SOUTH-EAST ASIA (agencies): Fraud in South-East Asia has passed a tipping point, evolving from isolated scams to highly commercial operations run by organised syndicates operating with the scale and efficiency of modern, legitimate businesses.
This warning was delivered by Niki Luhur, Founder and CEO of VIDA Group, at CISO Malaysia 2026, an event that brings together Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in Malaysia.
In his presentation, "From Fraudster to Syndicate: The Rise of Commercial Fraud in South-East Asia," Niki detailed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping the digital crime economy, automating and scaling fraud into a structured, industrialised threat.
"Fraud today is no longer about individuals seeking quick profits; it has become a business," said Niki Luhur. "When crime operates like an industry, security cannot rely on assumptions built for a different era."
This message resonates with CISOs, as AI-powered threats like deepfake attacks and synthetic identity fraud erode traditional security models.
In line with Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) decision to phase out SMS OTPs by June 2026, which underscores the inadequacy of legacy authentication and requires a fundamental redesign of defense strategies for banking leaders.
Niki emphasized layered and coordinated identity defence. Effective fraud prevention requires unifying identity verification, device integrity checks, liveness detection, and PKI authentication into a cohesive system that can withstand large-scale AI-based attacks.
Device trust is now a critical frontline control. For more information, visit www.vida.id
Note: VIDA is a leading company in Indonesia in the field of digital identity and fraud prevention, licensed Certification Authority (CA) registered under the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
Founded in 2018, VIDA provides digital identity services that integrate electronic certificates, digital signatures, identity verification, and transaction authentication, all adhering to world-class security standards, including Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and biometric verification. VIDA verifies more than 2.5 million identities every day.
