Cybersecurity agencies have warned that the timeline is ‘not years, it is months’ (Picture: Getty Images)

AI models that are capable of taking down governments and businesses are just ‘months away’ from being introduced, according to intelligence agencies.

In a joint statement by signals agencies for the Five Eyes, which is an intelligence-sharing alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and United States, world leaders have been urged to ‘act now’.

This comes after the Donald Trump administration decided to block ‘foreign nationals’ from using the AI model Fable, built by tech company Anthropic, earlier this month.

The statement, which was issued late Monday night Sydney time, said AI ‘accelerates the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber threats’.

‘Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities,’ the warning by Five Eyes’ agencies said.

‘The timeline is not years, it is months.

Signals agencies for the Five Eyes have urged world leaders to ‘act now’ (Picture: Getty Images)

‘In this environment, cyber resilience is integral to advancing business continuity, market confidence, and long-term value.’

The cybersecurity agencies went on to claim that the leaps forward made by AI models proved that it would also lower barriers for bad actors and increase the speed and complexity of attacks.

‘A whole-of-organisation and whole-of-society response is required,’ the statement added.

‘Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.’

While no specific AI models have been mentioned, many have their eyes on Anthropic’s advanced tier of tools.

One of the tech company’s latest inventions, Fable 5, is said to be capable of detecting vulnerabilities in cyber systems that is only available to vetted organisations and companies.

President Donald Trump recently blocked ‘foreign nationals’ from using the AI model Fable, built by tech company Anthropic (Picture: Getty Images)

It was also suspended for use by ‘foreign nationals’ in June by the US government, which cited advice by national security authorities.

However, Olivia Shen, an expert in national security and AI at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre, told the Guardian that ‘there could be many more powerful AI models not far off on the horizon’.

‘I think we have to anticipate that the next Mythos or the next Fable is just around the corner,’ Shen said.

‘We can only see what’s been released, but there could be other models being developed by the likes of China, or other states and other actors and companies, that are just as advanced.’

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