Security: AI to supercharge cyber threats across APAC

REUBEN KOH
DIRECTOR OF SECURITY TECHNOLOGY & STRATEGY AT AKAMAI

“AI is fundamentally changing the economics of cyberattacks in APAC. Adversaries are no longer scaling through manpower, but rather through automation. Leaders can’t rely on human-paced defenses in a machine- paced threat environment. In 2026, security teams need to operate at the same velocity as the attackers by detecting, analyzing, and containing threats in real time. This starts with modernizing API governance, investing in automated threat containment, and strengthening resilience across supply chains. Organizations that make this shift early will be the ones to better protect customer trust and maintain business continuity in
an evolving AI-driven threat landscape.”

COMPRESSED ATTACK TIMELINES DUE TO AUTONOMOUS AI

We anticipate a fundamental shift in how cyberattacks unfold in APAC in 2026 with faster, more automated and increasingly self- directed threats powered by AI. Attackers will leverage both generative AI and autonomous AI capabilities that can scan for weakness, test entry points and launch exploits with minimal human involvement. This machine-driven model compresses the timelines of breaches that once unfolded over weeks to within hours, raising risk across high-value digital markets such as Singapore, Korea and Japan.

THE FULL DEMOCRATIZATION OF RANSOMWARE

Ransomware will become fully commoditized in 2026, transforming into a mass-scale cybercrime economy. With off-the-shelf Ransomware-as-a-Service subscriptions, AI-powered “vibe-hacking,” and growing collaboration between cybercriminals, hacktivists, and state-aligned actors, launching an extortion campaign will require far less expertise than before.”