Tuguegarao city: Cybersecurity firm Fortinet highlighted the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools by malicious actors, with cybersecurity threats possibly outpacing the country's readiness.
According to Philippines News Agency, in a press conference in Taguig City, Fortinet Philippines country head Bambi Escalante noted that cybercriminals have traditionally targeted high-value sectors such as banking, telecommunications, and utilities. However, AI-driven attacks now scan for vulnerabilities indiscriminately, threatening not just the government or smaller organizations but even ordinary individuals through large-scale e-commerce and payment fraud.
Escalante emphasized, 'When you ask who is vulnerable, I would say almost all organizations are vulnerable because of the AI-driven and supercharged threats that we have right now.' Fortinet's findings are based on a study commissioned from Forrester Consulting that revealed organizations across the Asia Pacific are struggling to keep pace as cybersecurity complexity and AI-driven threats are straining their ability to respond effectively.
To address these risks, Escalante recommended that organizations and companies adopt a unified, platform-based security architecture to reduce tool sprawl, improve integration, and manage growing hybrid complexity. She stated, 'We are recommending that AI is also part of the security solution, just like what we have mentioned earlier. And the heightened education and awareness because we're all part of the human firewall.'
Additionally, Rashis Pandey, Fortinet Asia Pacific vice president of marketing and communications, mentioned that organizations are placing significant expectations on AI to transform security operations, from improving detection to accelerating response. 'However, AI can only deliver meaningful outcomes when it is built on an integrated foundation,' Pandey said. He added that without unified visibility and connected data across environments, the use of AI risks amplifying complexity rather than reducing it. 'Integration is what enables AI to operate at scale and deliver real security impact,' he said.
Fortinet is a cybersecurity firm that provides over 50 enterprise-grade products in the Philippines, as well as in several other countries.
