Indonesia Could Become a Global Target, Warns Interpol

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is intensifying cyber threats, making fraud and digital crimes faster and more large-scale. Interpol assesses that AI is not changing criminal techniques per se, but is making existing methods increasingly effective.

Bjorn R. Watne, Interpol’s Global Chief Information Security Officer, stated that fraudsters can now leverage AI to target multiple victims simultaneously. AI’s ability to translate languages and create digital identities also makes fake interactions increasingly difficult to distinguish from genuine communication.

This means that scammers and criminals from around the world can now carry out criminal activities against targets globally, including Indonesia.

“This is an evolution and not a revolution,” Watne told CNBC International, as reported on Monday (5/10/2026). According to him, AI primarily increases the speed and scale of criminal techniques that are already in use.

Watne warned companies against attempting to protect all assets from every type of threat simultaneously. Companies should first determine the most critical assets for their operations, or ‘crown jewels’, and then identify parties with the potential to steal or disrupt those assets.

Companies can then utilise cyber threat intelligence to understand the methods and technologies used by perpetrators, allowing defence systems to be tailored to the specific threats faced.

“There is no need for everyone to try to protect themselves from everything at once when they are not the target of that specific threat,” he said.

However, Watne noted that many companies still face issues because cybersecurity strategies are not fully integrated with senior management. He added that many industries have yet to realise that almost all companies today are essentially technology companies.

Another threat of concern to Watne is ‘agentic AI’—AI that does not merely provide information but is also capable of taking actions on behalf of a user. He warned that AI errors could have far more serious impacts when such systems are granted the ability to act in the real world.

“One thing is if AI provides you with incorrect information. However, when AI actually performs an action and begins to take the wrong action, especially in the physical realm, it can lead to consequences such as physical injury to humans,” said Watne.

He noted that the use of AI in devices such as cars and autonomous vehicles is one area that requires vigilance. This risk is heightened because society tends to place a high level of trust in technology.

Watne compared this to financial services, where users are typically more cautious when using PINs and are wary of risks such as credit card data theft. Conversely, technology users tend to adopt new devices and applications more quickly without the same level of caution.

“When it comes to technology, the level of trust is very high,” he remarked.

As AI becomes more capable of acting on behalf of humans, Watne believes this level of trust needs to be re-examined. This is because AI errors will no longer merely result in incorrect information, but have the potential to trigger actions with real-world consequences.