The intelligence and cybersecurity agencies of five allied nations — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand — issued a rare joint statement on June 23, 2026, warning that artificial intelligence is advancing so quickly it could fundamentally transform the cyber threat landscape within months, not years.

The statement was published simultaneously by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Australia’s Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), and New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre.

What the statement says

The agencies wrote that cyber risk assumptions can become outdated in months, not years. The group warned that AI lowers barriers for malicious actors and increases the speed and complexity of attacks, compressing the window between the discovery of a vulnerability and its exploitation.

Acknowledging the limits of any defense, the agencies were direct: breaches will occur, and preparedness helps contain them quickly and prevent escalation into major operational and financial crises.

What organizations must do

The agencies laid out three broad priorities:

  • Use AI to defend: AI-driven security tools help detect weaknesses earlier, monitor unusual behavior, and respond to incidents faster than traditional approaches.
  • Patch and upgrade: outdated software is the most common attack vector. Known vulnerabilities should be treated as urgent, not routine.
  • Limit access: restricting which users and systems can reach critical infrastructure substantially reduces exposure.

The June warning follows May guidance from the same group specifically addressing agentic AI — systems that can plan, make decisions, and act autonomously. That document identified 23 risk categories and more than 100 best practices, warning that every additional component in an agentic AI system widens the attack surface.

Why it matters for Georgia

Georgia is at an early but accelerating stage of digital transformation. The government is developing a national AI strategy, and the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) runs four accelerators per year to grow the country’s tech sector. An AI Readiness Forum held in Tbilisi in April brought together public- and private-sector stakeholders to assess preparedness.

As Georgia deepens ties with the EU and Western institutions more broadly, guidance from allied intelligence agencies carries direct relevance. Georgian banks, telecoms, healthcare providers, and government ministries are increasingly reliant on networked systems — and often carry significant legacy infrastructure. The Five Eyes warning is a clear signal that the window to address known vulnerabilities is closing fast.