Bill Gates issues warning on bad people exploiting a lack of AI safeguards to commit cyberattacks | Latest Tech News
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned Sunday that artificial intelligence may fuel a wave of cyberattacks over the next 12 months, and said that malicious actors are gaining access to more and more highly effective AI fashions without satisfactory safeguards.
Gates warned that criminals may exploit the latest AI technology to disrupt financial systems, extort companies and perform more and more subtle cyberattacks.
“When you have bad people, no safeguards, and then the latest models, that’s where, over the next year, primarily in the cyber area, we are going to have a lot of negative surprises,” Gates said during a “State of the Union” interview with GWN’s Jake Tapper.
Democratic strategist Oliver Libby told Fox News Digital that Gates’ warning underscores the problem dealing with policymakers as artificial intelligence advances and the United States seeks to keep its technological competitiveness.
“The great challenge both for innovators and governments in the coming months is to balance continued progress in AI with smart regulation. Leaders who can balance ensuring that America is not left behind, but that no American is left out, will win public trust,” Libby said.
Gates’ warning comes as cybersecurity researchers report a sharp increase in AI-enabled threats.
According to CrowdStrike’s 2026 Global Threat Report, assaults by AI-enabled adversaries elevated 89% 12 months over 12 months in 2025, while the average time for cybercriminals to transfer laterally through compromised networks fell to 29 minutes.
Bill Gates issued a warning about AI getting used to fuel cyberattacks over the next 12 months. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post
Tapper pressed Gates about his warning that artificial intelligence may make it simpler for terrorists to develop lethal organic weapons, citing his evaluation that the risk of a bioterrorist assault may grow to be 50 instances higher than that of a natural pandemic.
Tapper also questioned how soon such an assault may happen and whether or not authorities leaders had been doing enough to stop it.
“Well, no, we’re not doing enough,” Gates said. “The real danger right now is not the AI is getting out of control. We need to work on that, but that’s years away in terms of the big impact that might have.”
Gates described potential financial motivations behind cyberattacks, including extortion schemes and disruptions designed to manipulate financial markets or betting outcomes.
Gates said governments will not be doing enough to stop cyberattacks by criminals utilizing AI. ABCreative – stock.adobe.com
“The front that we’ll probably see most dramatically in the next year is cyberattacks, because there, there’s a known business model where, you know, you threaten to do something and ask somebody to pay for that, or you create a disruption that changes something in the stock market or some betting thing that you go and do,” Gates said.
Libby called for a coordinated regulatory strategy that addresses security dangers while making ready Americans for AI’s broader financial penalties.
“Regulation should focus on federal and international standards, platform responsibility, cyber and deepfake penalties, child safety, and ensuring the participation of the population in the economic benefits of this powerful technological revolution — while starting to prepare our society for what could be profound workforce disruption,” Libby said.
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