Spain’s security services are stepping up their preparedness to deal with artificial intelligence attacks by hostile states.

High-ranking military officers and intelligence services admitted the likelihood of such attacks was increasing at a cyber defence conference organised by Google in Malaga

Spain has three agencies that specialise in cyber security – the National Cybersecurity Institute (NCI), the Joint Cyber Defence Command (JCDC) and the National Cryptological Centre (NCC).

Enrique Pérez de Tena is a frigate captain who works at the JCDC – a branch of the Spanish military.

He described the internet as being an environment where “a war is fought every day.”

The military officer said AI was a tool security services had to learn how to use to defend the country from malign actors using cyber attacks.

“We have to learn to use it to be ready for what comes,” he told the conference.

Cristina González Pitarch is Google’s director of cloud security for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

She described how countries like Russia and China were using cyber attacks in their specific ways.

“We see many attacks from Russia focused on Ukraine but also against diplomatic headquarters of other EU countries,” she said.

“Their mission is to destabilise and get money. Those attacks can be very lucrative and Russia uses them to finance itself.”

On the other hand, attacks from China focus on “essential infrastructures” or “small things we use every day – what we call the Internet of Things.”

Carlos Abad is a cybersecurity expert working for the National Cryptological Centre, which covers the public sector and critical infrastructures.

He explained that one of the most difficult challenges facing security experts was the speed of technological change.

“The first challenge is the speed at which all this is happening. Technology evolves so fast that even experts can’t keep up.

“The second thing to consider is that the attack surface has grown,” he continued.

“We not only have to protect our traditional network applications but also those of artificial intelligence, which allows massive amplification on social networks and increases the threat and challenge we face.”