Experts call for shared intelligence and proactive governance for cybersecurity in Al era

THE opening session of the 11th Annual Daily FT-CICRA Cyber Security Summit set a strong, forward-looking tone with a keynote address by Dibyajyoti Sen, VISA Risk Practice Lead for Visa Consulting and Analytics, Asia Pacific. Speaking under the theme “Future-Proof Security: Predicting Cyber Threats Before They Strike”, Sen outlined how artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and sophisticated supply chain attacks are fundamentally reshaping the global cybersecurity landscape.

- BY HIYAL BIYAGAMAGE

CICRA Holdings Group Director and CEO Boshan Dayaratne VISA Asia Pacific Visa Consulting and Analytics Risk Practice Lead Dibyajyoti Sen Brandix Director Oshada Senanayake From left: Central Bank Chief Information Security Officer Sanjee Balasuriya, Brandix Director Oshada Senanayake, VISA Asia Pacific Visa Consulting and Analytics Risk Practice Lead Dibyajyoti Sen, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Information Officer Asela Perera, HashX Founder and CEO Avishka Bandara and Moderator Daily FT Editor and CEO Nisthar Cassim Central Bank Chief Information Security Officer Sanjee Balasuriya Dialog Axiata Group Chief Information Officer Asela Perera HashX Founder and CEO Avishka Bandara

A complex and fragmented threat environment

Sen began by mapping out the 2025 cyber threat landscape, drawing from Visa's global intelligence network. Financial institutions, he said, remain prime targets, facing sustained, high-volume attacks from increasingly organised and well-funded threat groups. He pointed to the fragmentation of the ransomware ecosystem, with new collectives like DragonForce and Scattered Spider emerging to replace older groups. “We're seeing the evolution of ransomware-as-a-service cartels where brand loyalty and ideology have given way to a more commercialised, marketplace-driven model of cybercrime.”

Beyond traditional attacks, nation-state actors are escalating operations to infiltrate critical infrastructure, including energy, transport, and telecommunications networks. Sen highlighted how campaigns such as Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon compromised routers, internet service providers, and even government surveillance systems through outdated hardware. “The lesson is that our weakest link isn’t always the newest technology. It’s often the legacy systems we've ignored,” said Sen.