FIOR appoints Sir Tom Copinger-Symes to advise on AI

FIOR has appointed Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes as an adviser on defence, cyber, national security and autonomous AI, adding a former senior UK military commander to its advisory bench.

He joins as FIOR seeks to position its technology around controlling AI agents that can act across software, networks, operational systems and physical infrastructure. The company says its system gives each agent a verifiable identity and enforces what it is allowed to do before any action takes place.

The appointment follows the recent arrival of Gemma Ungoed-Thomas, former Cabinet Office Director for State Threats, Cyber and Technology, as adviser on sovereign AI. Her previous roles included positions at GCHQ and the National Cyber Security Centre, as well as serving as the Prime Minister's Private Secretary for Home Affairs and National Security.

Sir Tom spent more than three decades in the military and national security sphere. Most recently, he served as Deputy Commander of UK Strategic Command, now Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, where his remit included establishing the Defence Cyber & Electromagnetic Force and expanding the National Cyber Force.

Earlier in his career, he was Director of Military Digitisation and led the Digital Strategy for Defence. That work introduced the Digital Backbone concept, designed to connect sensors, decision-makers and effectors across the battlespace, an approach later adopted by NATO.

Security focus

FIOR is targeting a market shaped by the growing use of AI systems that do more than generate text or analysis. As organisations test agents that can access systems, invoke tools and carry out tasks directly, questions of identity, authority and oversight are becoming more central to cyber security planning.

FIOR argues that many existing controls were designed for human users, devices and conventional applications rather than autonomous software. Its approach is to place checks before an AI agent acts, rather than relying only on monitoring after the event.

The wider backdrop includes concerns about how autonomous systems behave in live environments. FIOR pointed to recent incidents involving AI agents operating on government systems in Australia and the United States, including cases in which agents accessed data and, in one instance identified by researchers, appeared to attempt unauthorised activity against a government website.

David Williams, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FIOR, said: "Tom has spent much of the last decade thinking about a problem that is now becoming critical far beyond defence: how digital technology, data and increasingly autonomous systems change the way organisations operate, and how we retain effective command and control as that happens.

"AI agents represent a fundamental change because they are moving from providing information to taking action. Once an AI can access systems, invoke tools, communicate with other machines or change something in the real world, identity and authority become security questions.

"We should not rely on an autonomous AI agent choosing to remain within its authority. We need infrastructure that makes those limits technically enforceable.

"Tom's experience across operational command, cyber, intelligence and digital transformation makes him exceptionally well placed to advise us as we develop this technology for defence, government and other organisations operating critical infrastructure."

Military background

Sir Tom said the rise of AI in defence and critical systems required stronger lines of accountability and control as systems become more autonomous.

"AI, cyber and digital technologies are changing both the character of conflict and the way complex organisations operate. The opportunity is considerable, but increasing autonomy must also be matched by clear accountability and control.

"As AI systems become capable of taking actions across digital and physical infrastructure, organisations need to know which agent is acting, under whose authority, what it is permitted to do and whether that authority can be constrained or withdrawn. This is the same approach we take with military forces in combat: delegating as much freedom as possible to enable speed, innovation and creativity in achieving a mission, while maintaining guardrails to ensure security, ethics and control.

"FIOR is addressing this challenge at the infrastructure level. Its approach combines verifiable identity with enforceable controls over what AI agents are permitted to do. Governing agents before they act, rather than relying solely on monitoring afterwards, is what makes its work particularly compelling.

"I am pleased to be advising FIOR as it develops its technology and relationships across defence, government and the wider national security and critical infrastructure community."