INTERPOL warns of surge in Asia-Pacific cybercrime as AI fuels threats

INTERPOL’s 2025/2026 Asia and South Pacific Cyber Threat Assessment reports a dramatic rise in cybercrime across the region, driven by rapid digitalisation, artificial‑intelligence tools and increasingly organised criminal networks. More than half of the surveyed countries say cybercrime now accounts for around 30 % of all recorded offences. Phishing is the most widespread and financially damaging form, with 33 % of nations reporting over 10,000 cases. Ransomware attacks exceeded 135,000 in 2024, affecting real‑estate, manufacturing and financial services, while distributed‑denial‑of‑service attacks rose 92 % year on year. AI‑driven activities, such as deep‑fake‑related discussions on criminal forums, surged 600 % between February and June 2024.

The report notes that 6.5 billion cyber threats were detected and mitigated in 2024. Law‑enforcement agencies face significant challenges, especially in smaller island states with limited technical capacity and fragmented enforcement. Nevertheless, 66.7 % of member countries have adopted AI tools for predictive analysis and digital forensics, and many are enhancing legislation and public‑awareness programmes. INTERPOL Cybercrime Director Neal Jetton said, “The findings in this report highlight a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape across Asia and the South Pacific, where cybercriminals are leveraging artificial intelligence, ransomware‑as‑a‑service models, and sophisticated social engineering techniques on an industrial scale.”