ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is moving to the frontlines of cybersecurity in the Philippines as organizations shift from pilot projects to full-scale adoption to counter increasingly sophisticated AI-driven attacks, a new IDC study commissioned by Fortinet showed.
According to the 2025 IDC survey, nearly 78 percent of Philippine organizations encountered AI-powered cyber threats in the past year, with 64 percent reporting a twofold increase and 28 percent seeing a threefold surge in threat volume. Attackers are now using AI to launch faster and stealthier attacks, exploiting blind spots in governance and internal processes.
In response, more than nine in 10 organizations have integrated AI into their security operations, using it not just for detection but also for automated response, predictive threat modelling, and AI-driven incident management. The report said detection has become “table stakes,” with response and orchestration emerging as the next frontier.
Generative AI (GenAI) is also being adopted for light-touch tasks such as playbook execution, policy updates, and social engineering detection, though most firms still limit its use to co-pilot roles rather than autonomous remediation.
AI adoption is also reshaping the cybersecurity workforce. The most in-demand roles now include AI security engineers, data scientists, and threat intelligence analysts, reflecting a shift toward teams built around AI capabilities.
Budgets for cybersecurity are rising modestly, with 80 percent of organizations reporting an increase — mostly under 10 percent. Spending is being redirected toward identity and network security, Zero Trust frameworks, and cloud protection rather than infrastructure-heavy investments.
Despite growing awareness, many teams remain overstretched. Only 13 percent of IT staff focus on cybersecurity, and fewer than one in six firms have a dedicated chief information security officer. Burnout and tool sprawl continue to hinder execution, the study found.
To cope with this complexity, 96 percent of respondents are converging networking and security functions, while 70 percent are pursuing vendor consolidation to simplify management and strengthen their overall security posture.
“Organizations are no longer experimenting with AI — they’re embedding it across detection, response, and team design,” said Simon Piff, research vice-president at IDC Asia-Pacific.
Fortinet Philippines country manager Bambi Escalante added, “As cyber risks grow more complex and distributed, AI-driven and converged security models are becoming essential for resilience and speed.” / KOC