A new report from **INTERPOL** has uncovered a "dramatic increase" in cybercrime across Asia and the South Pacific. This surge is attributed to rapid digitalization, increased internet penetration, the emergence of new technologies, the proliferation of organized criminal networks, and disparities in cybersecurity maturity across the region. According to **INTERPOL**'s 2025/2026 Asia and South Pacific Cyberthreat Assessment Report, phishing has become the most widespread and financially devastating form of cybercrime. A third of countries in the region reported over 10,000 phishing cases between January 2024 and March 2025. Overall, more than half of **INTERPOL** member countries indicated that cybercrime accounts for at least 30% of all recorded national crimes. "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," stated **Neal Jetton**, **INTERPOL** Cybercrime Director. "As digital adoption accelerates across the region, strengthening operational cooperation, information sharing, and cyber resilience remains essential to protecting communities and critical infrastructure." ### The Rise of Ransomware and AI-Driven Scams The increasing sophistication of cybercriminal tactics has led to a surge in ransomware attacks and the emergence of deepfake and **Artificial Intelligence (AI)**-driven scams. These advanced scams often involve impersonating business executives to authorize fraudulent transactions. The region is estimated to have recorded over 135,000 ransomware-related attacks in 2024, with the real estate, manufacturing, and financial services sectors being most impacted. This trend is further exacerbated by the industrialization of cyber-enabled scams by transnational organized crime syndicates in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines. These groups operate extensive scam centers, often utilizing forced labor to conduct investment scams. They prey on victims worldwide by building friendly or romantic relationships, a tactic known as "romance baiting." "Organized crime in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos used deepfakes in 'romance baiting' scams, blending AI personas and social engineering to fuel $37 billion in regional cybercrime losses," **INTERPOL** noted. ### Key Regional Cybercrime Trends The report also highlighted several other critical regional trends: * **Banking trojans and information stealers** emerged as the second most prevalent cybercrime, with malware families such as **RedLine**, **Lumma**, **LokiBot**, **Negasteal**, and **ZBot** being particularly dominant. * Approximately 5.5 out of every 1,000 individuals in the Asia and South Pacific region clicked on phishing links monthly, nearly double the global average of 2.9 per 1,000. * **Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS)** attacks saw a significant increase of 92% in 2024 compared to the previous year. * System intrusions were responsible for approximately 80% of all data breaches in 2024. * The exploitation of deepfake technology for sexual exploitation, blackmail, or coercion is a growing concern. * Cybercriminals are actively exploiting misconfigured systems, weak encryption, insecure APIs, and insufficient monitoring to breach target networks. * Ransomware groups are increasingly weaponizing companies' regulatory obligations to intensify pressure during extortion attempts. In response to these escalating threats, law enforcement organizations across the region, with the support of **INTERPOL**, are intensifying their efforts to combat cybercrime. These initiatives include coordinating operations against cybercriminal infrastructure, fostering collaborative investigations, providing specialized training, and developing policies to enhance cyber resilience.