Fortinet, the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced the findings of a new IDC survey that reveals a sharp escalation in both the volume and sophistication of cyber threats across the Philippines and the Asia Pacific region. The study, commissioned by Fortinet, highlights how attackers are rapidly adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scale stealthy, fast-moving attacks—leaving security teams struggling to detect and respond in time. The results reveal a threat landscape that is not only evolving in complexity but also shifting toward gaps in visibility, governance, and infrastructure, posing greater challenges to overstretched cyber teams.
Fortinet survey reveals Philippines' cybersecurity under siege
By MB Technews
Published Jun 2, 2025 05:46 am
(From Left) Rashish Pandey, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Asia & ANZ, Fortinet, Bambi Escalante, Country Manager, Fortinet, Napoleon Castillo, Manager, Systems Engineering, Philippines, Fortinet Philippines
AI Joins the Attacker’s Arsenal — And Most Firms Have Felt It
Gone are the days when cyber threats came solely in the form of viruses or email scams. Today's AI-enhanced attacks are smarter, faster, and harder to detect. Among the most common AI-driven threats affecting local organizations are: deepfake impersonation in business email compromise (BEC) schemes, AI-powered social engineering and identity theft, polymorphic malware that evolves to avoid detection, adversarial AI and data poisoning and automated reconnaissance to scan for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Despite this surge, only 9% of Philippine organizations feel very confident in defending against AI-enabled threats. Alarmingly, 19% admit they can’t detect them at all, leaving significant gaps in cyber resilience.
Cyber Risk Is Now a Constant, not a Crisis
The cybersecurity landscape is no longer defined by episodic crises—it is a state of constant exposure -a 24/7 battle against unseen enemies.
The most common threats reported include: Ransomware (66%), software supply chain attacks (62%), cloud vulnerabilities (58%), insider threats (56%) and phishing attacks (50%).
What’s more worrying is that “quiet” threats — like unpatched systems, cloud misconfigurations, and zero-day exploits — are now seen as more damaging than traditional attacks. These often bypass existing defenses and go undetected, causing long-term damage to systems and reputation.
Teams Under Pressure: Too Few People, Too Many Problems
With such high stakes, you’d expect strong defenses — but most Filipino organizations are critically understaffed. On average, less than one cybersecurity expert exists for every 100 employees.
While cybersecurity awareness is rising, budget growth still lags behind the threat level. On average, only 15% of IT budgets are spent on cybersecurity, equating to just 1.4% of total revenue. The focus is shifting towards more strategic investments. The top five priorities include identity security, network security, SASE/Zero Trust, cyber resilience, and cloud-native application protection—indicating a shift toward access-centric, risk-based security planning.
AI is not only changing how businesses operate — it’s changing how attackers think. For organizations in the Philippines, this means rethinking cybersecurity strategies, investing in smarter solutions, and closing the human and technical gaps before attackers do.