It is not easy to imagine that our online activities carry intensifying and proliferating risks. Scam networks in mainland Southeast Asia that have preyed on many thousands of hapless citizens worldwide and thereby plagued the Asean region are just one of these risks. More potent are the cyber operations perpetrated by government and non-government actors against each other and against individual societies. For Southeast Asia, preempting, mitigating and managing cybersecurity challenges ultimately have to rely on state-society relations and intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration across the Asean region.
This message came through loud and clear at the recent Fourth Digital Defence Symposium organised by the ADMM Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE) in Singapore. Future conflicts will not simply be fought over sovereignty and territory but will increasingly be waged over data and information. This may sound obvious in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), but the implications are profound.
