KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is expected to see a surge in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven cyber attacks from 2027, as hackers increasingly deploy malicious AI agents to launch attacks faster and on a larger scale, says cybersecurity firm LGMS Bhd.
Its managing director Fong Choong Fook said analysis of attack logs and patterns involving two large organisations, including a publicly listed company, indicated that AI was being used to carry out multiple stages of cyber attacks, from reconnaissance and target assessment to gaining system access and deploying backdoors.
“We in Malaysia are not alone, basically, the world is suffering from cyber attacks driven by AI. In Malaysia, even back in July, we are seeing AI-driven attacks and attacks done by AI agents, because we also handled a lot of cyber criminal cases for large organisations.
“We foresee that in the subsequent months to come and even starting from 2027, the mainstream of cyber attacks is going to be driven by AI agents. That's why we need to start thinking how can we leverage on AI, using AI to fight against the malicious AI agents,” he told reporters at the LGMS AI Cybersecurity Summit 2026 here today.
Fong said the growing use of AI by hackers underscored the need for organisations to adopt the same technology to strengthen their defences, as conventional human-led monitoring and response could struggle to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated threats.
He warned that cyber threats were no longer confined to traditionally lucrative sectors such as banking and finance, as the lower cost of launching attacks had made organisations across industries, including hospitals, hotels, logistics companies and manufacturers, increasingly vulnerable, adding that any organisation with an online presence could be exposed to such threats.
Fong said small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which often had limited resources for cybersecurity, were particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks as business growth often took priority over cybersecurity, while limited preventive measures and backups could worsen the impact of an attack.
He said five solutions unveiled at today’s summit by local talents, were developed to reduce reliance on human intervention by enabling machines to identify suspicious activities, detect vulnerabilities and respond to threats at machine speed, including through round-the-clock monitoring.
“Today we can no longer depend on humans alone. We have to rely on machines to do part of the thinking and response in order to supplement what humans may miss,” he said.
Fong said the solutions were already commercially available, with several clients, including publicly listed companies, having tested the products and placed orders, apart from opportunities from foreign countries.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah said Malaysia's shortage of cybersecurity professionals could be partly addressed through AI, which enables more people to handle cybersecurity tasks.
He said AI agents could help bridge the talent gap by enabling individuals without specialised technical backgrounds to take on cybersecurity-related tasks, similar to how AI tools could help ordinary users develop programming skills.
“Talent is a constant issue in the industry…The good thing is today with agents and AI, it can actually make a normal person even become a programmer. Similarly, it can make a normal person also handle cybersecurity issues as well,” he said.
-- BERNAMA