On 13 November 2025, Anthropic published a short research note that changed everything.
For the first time, an AI system autonomously hacked a network, scanning devices, finding weaknesses, exploiting them, and stealing data, all in under four hours and with almost no human direction after the initial prompt.
It wasn’t science fiction. It was a controlled red-team test… and it worked.
When a research lab can already do this today, organised criminals and nation-state groups are almost certainly further ahead.
For UK SMEs, the risk is acute. Limited budgets, ageing hardware, and small (or non-existent) security teams make smaller businesses the perfect testing ground for these new AI-driven attacks.
Why AI Cyber Attacks on SMEs Are the Next Big Threat
Large enterprises have 24/7 SOC teams and endless budgets. Most UK SMEs do not.
Typical SME reality today:
• Switches and routers averaging 6–8 years old
• Patch cycles measured in months, not days
• No full-time cybersecurity staff
• Separate tools for firewall, backups, antivirus, and Wi-Fi
• “That server in the corner” nobody has logged into for 18 months
An AI-driven attacker doesn’t need to be dramatically smarter, it just needs to be faster and quieter. A human might take days to map a network. An autonomous AI can do it in minutes.
One forgotten printer, guest Wi-Fi access point, or unpatched router is now enough to become the entry point for a devastating breach.
Key Takeaways from the Anthropic Incident Every SME Owner Must Know
Speed is now measured in minutes, not days
The full intrusion chain took under four hours.
Almost zero human oversight required
After the first prompt, the model chose its own tools and evasion techniques.
Legacy weaknesses are the new goldmine
The exploit chain used everyday misconfigurations most SMEs still have.
Defence must be proactive and unified
Siloed, reactive tools are obsolete when the attacker moves at AI speed.
Are AI Cyber Attacks on SMEs Already Happening in the UK?
Security vendors and the NCSC have stopped disclosing exact numbers, but the trend is clear: ransomware-as-a-service groups are already testing AI-assisted reconnaissance tools in the wild. SMEs are the low-hanging fruit.
Real-World Impact on UK SMEs Right Now
The NCSC and industry reports already show a sharp rise in AI-assisted reconnaissance targeting small-to-medium businesses throughout 2025. These attacks don’t need sophisticated zero-days — they exploit the same unpatched devices, forgotten printers, and outdated firmware most SME networks still have.
A single overlooked vulnerability is now enough for an AI to gain a foothold, move laterally, and encrypt or steal data before traditional alerts even trigger.
Sentinel counters this exact threat model by giving you complete visibility and automated protection across every device — no extra tools, no extra headcount required.
How UK SMEs Can Fight Back — Without a Million-Pound Budget
You don’t need a PhD team. You need three achievable things:
1. Complete visibility of every device — including the ones you forgot existed
2. Automated, always-on monitoring — manual quarterly checks are too slow
3. One single pane of glass — fewer consoles = faster response
This is exactly why we built Sentinel.
Sentinel: Purpose-Built for the AI-Accelerated Threat Era
Sentinel is a fully managed UK platform that combines:
• Real-time device discovery (even legacy and “invisible” hardware)
• Continuous vulnerability and configuration scanning
• Centralised backup verification
• Automated patch and firmware management
• 24/7 monitoring and response by our UK engineers
Because everything lives in one place, we spot the subtle indicators an AI attacker will exploit — long before they become a breach.
