Interpol released the «2025/2026 Cyber Threat Assessment for Asia and the South Pacific» on June 17, covering 18 member states with a data collection period from January 2024 to March 2025. The report shows that among surveyed Asian countries, over half reported that cybercrime already accounts for 30% of all recorded crime in their countries; about a third of countries reported more than 10,000 cases of phishing and other online scams, making it the most prevalent and economically damaging type of crime in the region. Neal Jetton, Head of Interpol’s Cyber Crime Unit in Singapore, stated in a press release that criminals are leveraging artificial intelligence, ransomware-as-a-service models, and sophisticated social engineering techniques on an „industrial scale“, and that AI is significantly increasing the operational efficiency of scam centers while drastically reducing their expansion costs.
The report notes that cross-border scam networks, once concentrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, have continued to expand and adapt to law enforcement pressure, forming new operational nodes across multiple jurisdictions. The lack of cross-border collaborative monitoring and enforcement capacity remains a core challenge. On the technical threat front, the report specifically highlights vulnerabilities in authentication systems: due to password reuse, credential leaks, and single sign-on system flaws, traditional security measures such as two-factor authentication are „becoming insufficient“. Interpol recommends adopting adaptive identity authentication schemes that perform real-time, dynamic verification based on location, behavior, and device integrity. In addition, discussions of deepfake-related content have surged on Telegram channels commonly used by threat actors in Southeast Asia, and reported cases of synthetic identity fraud in the fintech and healthtech sectors have also increased significantly. The report was supported by the Asia and South Pacific Joint Cybercrime Action (ASPJOC) project, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).