A sharp rise in cybercrime is being witnessed across Asia and the South Pacific, with new findings highlighting the growing impact of AI-driven threats, ransomware, phishing, and organised cybercriminal networks across the region.
According to a global policing agency’s Asia and South Pacific Cyber Threat Assessment Report 2025-2026, more than 50% of the 18 participating countries reported that cybercrime now accounts for over 30% of all crimes recorded nationally.
Phishing remained the most widespread and financially damaging cyber threat, with 33% of the surveyed countries reporting more than 10,000 phishing-related cases.
The report also revealed that more than 135,000 ransomware attacks were recorded across the region in 2024, targeting industries including real estate, manufacturing, and financial services. At the same time, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks increased by 92% compared to 2023.
Cybercriminals are also rapidly adopting artificial intelligence. Discussions related to deepfakes on cybercrime forums and Telegram channels popular among Southeast Asian threat actors increased by 600% between February and June 2024.
System intrusions accounted for nearly 80% of all reported data breaches during 2024. Malware was involved in 83% of these incidents, while ransomware featured in 51% of cases.
Data shared by TrendAI, a private-sector partner working with the agency’s Cybercrime Directorate, showed that more than 6,500,000,000 cyber threats were detected and blocked across the region between January and December 2024.
The report attributes the growing cyber threat landscape to rapid digitalisation, the adoption of emerging technologies, and increasingly organised criminal networks.
Cybercrime Director Neal Jetton warned that criminals are now using AI, ransomware-as-a-service, and social engineering “on an industrial scale.” He stressed the need for stronger operational cooperation, better information sharing, and improved cyber resilience to tackle the evolving threat landscape.
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