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.
This lack of specialisation is contributing to burnout and reduced effectiveness.
Convergence and consolidation take centre stage
To combat complexity, organisations are embracing unified cybersecurity frameworks. A staggering 96% are either converging security and networking or actively evaluating it. Additionally, 70% are considering vendor consolidation – not just for cost savings, but for better integration, faster support and improved security posture.
Simon Piff, Research Vice-President at IDC Asia-Pacific, noted: “Organisations are no longer experimenting with AI, they are embedding it across threat detection, incident response and team design. This signals a new era of security operations that is smarter, faster and more adaptive to the evolving risk landscape. AI is fundamentally reshaping how threats are identified, prioritised and acted upon. This evolution demands a parallel shift in strategy and talent.”
Jess Ng, Country Manager, Singapore and Brunei, Fortinet, added: “CISOs across Singapore are entering a more advanced phase of cybersecurity planning – one where AI is not just augmenting defences but influencing how organisations structure teams, allocate budgets and prioritise threats. At Fortinet, we are helping customers embrace this shift by embedding AI across the platform, enabling faster detection, smarter responses, and more resilient operations as cyber risks become more complex and distributed.”
About Fortinet
Fortinet is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.
Media Contact:
Leonard Low
leonard.low@priorityconsultants.com
