AI threats on the rise, experts warn of cyber risks

Organisations have been warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI), if exploited by attackers, can pose serious security vulnerabilities and enable adversarial attacks.

This caution was shared by Manage Engine Technical Solutions consultant Fauzan Ali, during his presentation on the dark side of AI at the Fiji Tech Summit 2025, held at the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort in Natadola today.

“It can be used to leverage credentials and gain access to sensitive data, putting organisations at serious risk of reputational damage and security breaches,” Mr Ali said.

He explained that manipulation of uncontrolled AI models and data sets can lead to the injection of malicious data, resulting in fraudulent decisions. For example, malware could be misclassified as safe software by a compromised security system.

“These are the cyber threat landscapes we can anticipate in 2025 and beyond,” he said. “Advanced AI-powered attacks, including phishing and social engineering, are becoming more sophisticated.”

Mr Ali also highlighted the rise of deepfake scams, polymorphic malware, and autonomous AI-driven threats, stressing the need for robust strategies to enhance cyber resilience.

“At ManageEngine, we embrace AI to elevate IT,” he said.

“We’ve embedded AI into most of our solutions—from service delivery and IT security to monitoring and identity management.” 

Fortinet OT security and threat intelligence lead Joshua Alock, echoed similar concerns in his presentation, focusing on increasing cyber resilience for operationally critical infrastructure.

His remarks aligned with comments made by Minister for Lands Vilimoni Vosarogo, who emphasised Fiji’s commitment to strengthening cyber resilience.

Mr Alock outlined risks targeting industries such as power generation, water, healthcare, and manufacturing, and urged organisations to adopt compliance frameworks to improve resilience.

“When it comes to operational technology, it’s not just supporting the business, it is the business. We must get this right,” he said.

Daniel Leary, Solutions Engineer at Jabra, said this was their third year participating in the summit. “It’s a key event for Fiji and the region. We’re excited to showcase our headsets and video solutions to help businesses thrive in today’s tech-driven era.”

At the Proofpoint booth, Solutions Engineer Oliver Campbell engaged with clients on securing environments from email threats to data loss prevention.