Philippine organizations are struggling to secure artificial intelligence (AI) agents and coordinate cyber defense operations, even as they demonstrate stronger-than-average cybersecurity readiness, according to Cisco’s latest report.
The Relentless Defense Report, released Monday, October 19, found that only 59 percent of Philippine organizations were highly confident in their ability to detect and respond to compromised AI agents, highlighting a critical weakness as AI-driven threats grow more sophisticated.
The findings come as 93 percent of Philippine organizations reported experiencing a material cybersecurity incident that disrupted business operations in the past 12 months. Nearly half also encountered AI-enhanced attacks, underscoring the growing pressure on companies to strengthen their defenses.
Despite these risks, the Philippines recorded an average cybersecurity readiness score of 70 out of 100. Some 17 percent of local organizations qualified as “Relentless Defenders,” Cisco’s top-performing category, exceeding the global average of 8 percent.
However, gaps in operational coordination could undermine these gains. Only 41 percent of Philippine organizations said their security, networking and IT teams operated as a coordinated unit, while 37 percent cited fragmented data that restricted access to critical security insights.
Another 32 percent said they spent more time gathering and correlating information than responding to threats, suggesting that organizational bottlenecks remain a significant obstacle despite investments in cybersecurity capabilities.
“AI has fundamentally raised the stakes for cyber defense. In a post-Mythos era, the speed of defense is driven by operational agility, not technology alone,” said Zaza Soriano-Nicart, managing director of Cisco Philippines.
She said organizations must embed security into daily operations, move beyond compliance-driven approaches and break down operational silos.
AI adoption in security operations also remains limited, with only 42 percent of Philippine organizations reporting extensive deployment of AI agents. Concerns over data exposure and compromised systems continue to constrain adoption.
Globally, top-performing defenders were better at coordinating security teams and governing AI agents, reinforcing the report’s central finding: technological readiness alone does not guarantee effective cyber defense.
