October 17, 2025 l The Manila Times
We have been focused on the unfolding drama of the flood control scams. We followed the first expose of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the Senate hearings, his appointment as Blue Ribbon chairman and his recent resignation. Many of us took part in the Trillion Peso March last September to demonstrate against the massive corruption that was perpetrated at both the legislative and the executive branches, according to televised hearings.
We were shocked to discover the incredible amounts that were programmed to be stolen by lawmakers, engineers and contractors, with cash withdrawals exceeding hundreds of millions. These even triggered new banking regulations for withdrawals. The corruption cases were brazen and systematically perpetrated with a total disregard for laws and the norms for moral decency.
As if the political scams were not enough, another growing threat has appeared in our business landscape. According to a 2025 IDC survey commissioned by Fortinet across 11 Asia-Pacific markets including the Philippines, AI is now being used extensively by threat actors. Two thirds of the organizations surveyed encountered AI-powered cyberthreats in the past year. Seventy-eight percent of Philippine companies surveyed reported being attacked. These attacks are scaling fast with a 2X increase reported by 64 percent of the organizations surveyed. These AI-enabled threats are more challenging to identify, and attackers are using highly customizable approaches targeting individuals.
The top five types of AI driven cyberthreats encountered in our region include AI-assisted credential stuffing and brute force attacks, AI-driven deep fake impersonation in business email compromise, AI-based data poisoning that manipulates AI models to degrade security detection, AI-powered self-evolving malware that is reportedly transmitted with zero click efficiency and deepfake-driven social engineering attacks like the video impersonation of Ramon Ang appearing in social media to promote fake investments.
The survey emphasized that cyber risk was no longer episodic but a 24/7 battle. Aside from the AI-driven scams, conventional threats continue to rise like ransomware and phishing attacks that challenge organizations. The key drivers that are making the Philippines prone to this fraud are rapid digital adoption as well as the expansion of fintech, e-wallets and crypto platforms. The accessibility of generative AI tools has also lowered the barrier for criminals.
We are seeing a rise in synthetic identity fraud being used for both bank account openings and loans applications. We are also seeing a rise in AI-generated receipts for refund scams and fake invoices that divert payments to fraudulent accounts. These are done by hijacking email instructions midway in the transaction and inserting bogus payment instruction.
We are facing enormous challenges in our organizations with mounting financial losses in the millions of pesos being reported. High profile individuals and corporations are being targeted leading to reputational damage. AI-generated content is often indistinguishable from real. We have limited capabilities and infrastructure gaps. To complicate matters, international crime syndicates are operating beyond the reach of many of our law enforcement agencies.
There is an urgent need to invest in public education to make everyone aware of this threat landscape. Our local banks are doing their part by adopting multi-layer security systems including biometrics, device and identity intelligence. Corporations are also investing in real time monitoring and anomaly detection. Zero trust systems are being rolled out by many companies.
Many of us, however, do not have these security systems so how do we protect ourselves as individuals? It is important for all of us to be mindful of this growing menace and to always remain vigilant in our online transactions because our next click could affect our personal wallets, resources and identities.
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email rsgoseco@gmail.com. Photo is from Pinterest.