The United Kingdom will likely face artificial intelligence cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure by 2028 as criminals and states, including China and Russia, increasingly use AI in their cyberactivity, Britain's cyberchief said Tuesday.

That could include AI-powered malware for ransomware attacks as the technology will allow "vulnerabilities that have been tolerated for far too long" to be discovered and exploited "at a scale that was once unimaginable," said Richard Horne, the head of the National Cyber Security Center.

One such vulnerability was discovered in refrigeration units that were targeted by hackers who turned up the temperature, causing food to thaw.