Here is one cybersecurity firm’s take on cyber- and AI-risk trends at the regional level in 2026.
The region’s rapid expansion in AI and digitalization is accelerating change at an unprecedented scale, with one glaring principle becoming clear: security must be embedded directly into the systems and decisions shaping the region’s next phase of digital growth.
We predict that four trends are set to influence the cybersecurity industry and region at large.
- Post‑quantum readiness gains urgency
Across the region, quantum‑safe pilot projects have been emerging. In Japan, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has completed the SecureBridge pilot, which validates hybrid post‑quantum authentication using smart cards in healthcare settings. In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been testing a sandbox for quantum‑safe financial communications.
The immediate concern is to foil the increase in “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks: hybrid cryptography, which combines classical and quantum‑resistant algorithms, is providing a practical transitional approach.
Implementing post-quantum measures at critical points of data exchange can improve readiness without large‑scale system disruption. The transition will require performance testing, infrastructure updates, and coordination across stakeholders, but early adoption efforts will ease future compliance obligations as quantum‑safe standards become formalized. - APIs as the weak link in agentic AI
Adoption of agentic AI is accelerating across the region. As this genre of automation expands, organizations will face a critical dependency: APIs have evolved from simple connectors to essential operational interfaces. They enable AI agents to retrieve data, initiate workflows, and interact with enterprise systems. Weak or poorly governed APIs now present a potential point of failure.
The speed of AI deployment is exceeding the pace of API security adoption. Shadow APIs, inconsistent governance, and limited visibility across multi-cloud environments have widened the attack surface. Addressing this in 2026 will require continuous API discovery, policy enforcement, and monitoring of AI‑generated traffic patterns to ensure security keeps pace with automation. - The emergence of sovereign AI infrastructure
AI has become a central element of national digital strategies, prompting governments to invest in locally governed compute and data infrastructure. Japan is developing domestically hosted supercomputing clusters under its Digital Garden City Vision. Australia and India are tightening domestic hosting and data localization requirements in critical sectors. Other AI sovereignty projects include the Singapore‑Batam‑Johor AI Corridor.
This trend is redefining data management and compliance across borders. As AI workloads operate increasingly within national or regional jurisdictions, organizations will need secure communications, runtime protection, and consistent application delivery frameworks capable of meeting local regulatory mandates
In an evolving policy environment, aligning early with these emerging national requirements will improve operational certainty. - Resilience takes precedence
Enterprises across the region are elevating digital resilience as a strategic priority. The focus now extends beyond protection to maintaining continuity, adaptability, and performance during disruption because:- Hybrid multi-cloud environments add complexity as applications and data are distributed across variable infrastructures
- AI‑driven workflows further increase dynamic behavior in network and application traffic.
To manage this, organizations are consolidating their visibility and control mechanisms to ensure consistent operations across diverse environments. Integrated and coherent approaches to application performance, traffic management, and security are becoming essential. Fragmented or isolated solutions will struggle to keep pace with the speed and unpredictability of digital ecosystems in 2026.
Is your organization cyber ready?
Our cybersecurity outlook for APAC 2026 will hopefully remind leaders that each of the four areas mentioned demands long‑term investment in strategy, governance, and interoperability.
Those building a solid cyber foundations today will be better positioned to innovate securely and maintain trust as the region’s digital landscape continues to evolve.
