Use of AI in cybersecurity surges in Singapore

• 07 Oct 2025
• TM Team
• 0 Comments

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept in cybersecurity but is now the frontline. Fortinet, a global leader in cybersecurity, has unveiled findings from a 2025 IDC survey that show a dramatic surge in AI adoption across Singapore’s enterprises, with 82% of organisations already integrating AI into their security operations.

The IDC study, commissioned by Fortinet, highlights how AI is now central to threat detection, incident response and even recruitment and investment strategies. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, AI is being deployed not just to keep pace, but to get ahead.

AI: A double-edged sword

AI is transforming cybersecurity on both sides of the battlefield. While defenders use it to automate detection and scale threat intelligence, attackers are also leveraging AI to launch faster, stealthier and more adaptive campaigns.

The survey found that some 56% of Singapore organisations encountered AI-powered threats in the past year. Among them, 52% saw a two-fold increase in threat volume, while 42% reported a three-fold surge. These attacks often exploit gaps in visibility and governance, making them harder to detect and contain.

From detection to prediction

AI’s role in cybersecurity is advancing rapidly. Beyond basic detection, organisations are now deploying AI for automated response, predictive threat modelling and behavioural analytics.

Generative AI (GenAI) is gaining traction for tasks like updating rules, detecting social engineering, and guiding investigations. However, trust in full autonomy remains low. Auto-remediation is still rare, indicating that most teams are in the “co-pilot” phase of AI adoption.

Building AI-first teams

The rise of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity workforce. The top five roles in demand across Singapore include security data scientists, AI security engineers and AI-specific incident response professionals.

Organisations are no longer just buying AI tools but building teams around them. This reflects a broader trend of aligning talent with technology to stay ahead of evolving threats.

Strategic spending and smarter investments

Cybersecurity budgets are increasing, but cautiously. While 86% of organisations reported budget growth, 68% saw increases of less than 5%.

Spending is being directed toward high-impact areas like identity security, Zero Trust frameworks, and cloud-native protection. This marks a shift from infrastructure-heavy investments to more targeted, risk-centric strategies.

Understaffed and overwhelmed

Despite growing executive attention, many cybersecurity teams remain stretched thin. Only 6% of the total workforce is allocated to internal IT, and just 13% of that focuses on cybersecurity. Less than 15% of organisations have a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and only 6% have purpose-built threat hunting teams.