A recent survey by Fortinet reveals that AI-powered threats in Vietnam have tripled, with nearly 52% of surveyed businesses reporting encounters with such cyber attacks.

Ransomware, supply chain attacks surge sharply

On June 3 in Hanoi, during the Fortinet Accelerate 2025 event, Fortinet unveiled the results of a new survey on cybersecurity in Vietnam, one of the company's key markets in Asia.

Conducted by Fortinet's authorized partner IDC, the survey collected responses from representatives of organizations with over 250 employees who play a direct role in shaping cybersecurity strategies and investments.

The findings reveal a sharp increase in both the scale and sophistication of cyber threats across Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region. Fortinet experts emphasized that cybersecurity risks are no longer short-lived crises but have become a persistent state of threat.

Traditional threats such as phishing and malware continue to grow at around 10% annually, though at a relatively modest rate, likely due to improved endpoint protections and awareness training. In contrast, the fastest-growing threats include ransomware (32%), cloud vulnerabilities (28%), attacks on IoT/OT systems (24%), supply chain breaches (22%), and unpatched or zero-day vulnerabilities (20%).

These escalating threats are exploiting gaps in governance, system visibility, and complexity, making them harder to detect and more damaging when successful. The consequences extend beyond operational downtime to data theft, privacy breaches, loss of customer trust, and regulatory penalties.

“Financial damages are also severe. About 44% of respondents experienced data breaches that led to financial losses, and one in four incidents resulted in costs exceeding $500,000,” Fortinet experts noted.

AI enables stealthier, faster cyber attacks

Notably, attackers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to scale up stealth attacks at unprecedented speed, posing significant detection and response challenges for security teams.

According to the survey, most Vietnamese organizations recognize that AI is now part of cybercriminals’ arsenal. Nearly 52% of businesses reported encountering AI-powered cyber threats in the past year. Of these, 54% observed a doubling and 36% saw a tripling in the rate of such threats.

Speaking at the event, Rashish Pandey, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Fortinet for Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, warned that AI-driven threats are harder to detect and often exploit human error, system misconfigurations, and identity management gaps.

In Vietnam, common AI-supported threats include password spraying, credential stuffing, deepfake-based business email scams, and automated attack surface mapping.

Despite the rise in AI-enabled threats, only 8% of organizations expressed confidence in their current defenses. Meanwhile, 30% admitted that these threats had exceeded their detection capabilities, and 33% said they had no monitoring capabilities for such attacks at all.

Simon Piff, Vice President of IDC’s Asia-Pacific Research Division, emphasized the growing need for AI-integrated defense strategies. “Organizations are now facing more sophisticated and unpredictable threats - from misconfigurations and insider risks to AI-driven attacks. Shifting to integrated, risk-based security models is imperative to remain proactive,” he stated.

Nguyen Gia Duc, Country Director of Fortinet Vietnam, added that in the face of evolving threats, speed, simplicity, and strategy are more critical than ever. “Fortinet is focused on helping businesses move from fragmented defenses to intelligent security ecosystems, using scalable AI that adapts to complex and evolving threats,” he said.

Van Anh