AMCHAM India and AmCham Australia in partnership with Palo Alto Networks, held a strategic workshop on the evolving intersection of critical infrastructure, cyber security legislation, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the APAC region. Members of AMCHAM’s ICT and Cyber Security Committees joined the interactive session that brought together distinguished speakers including a former Australian Ambassador for Cyber Affairs & Critical Technology, senior government officials, and industry leaders from across the cyber security ecosystem. 

Key issues raised on cyber security: 

• AI-Driven Threat Landscape Evolution: Members highlighted how generative AI has accelerated the speed at which cyber threats multiply, with modern devices now vulnerable to compromise in as little as 24 minutes. The interconnected nature of cyberspace has created new attack vectors across power grids, telecommunications, and undersea infrastructure domains.
• Supply Chain Security Vulnerabilities: Concerns were raised over securing supply chains from cyber attacks, particularly in semiconductor ecosystems and critical infrastructure components. Members emphasized the need for enhanced scrutiny of software bill of materials and robust threat intelligence sharing mechanisms.
• Critical Infrastructure Protection: The session addressed cyber security challenges across energy, transport, health, and digital infrastructure, with specific focus on India’s growing solar energy footprint, 5G network expansion (219 million subscribers), and telecommunications fraud protection requirements.

Key issues raised on AI and technology: 

• Responsible AI Framework Development: Industry representatives emphasized the need for trusted AI frameworks with appropriate guardrails to ensure resilience and reliability. Members advocated for clear definitions of trust and transparent data usage protocols in AI deployment across critical infrastructure.
• Government-Industry Collaboration Gap: Participants noted that while innovation is advancing rapidly at the industry level, government systems face restrictions on using commercial AI tools. This creates challenges in harmonizing cyber rules and ensuring adequate percolation of available services to all organizational levels.
• Regional Language and Digital Identity Solutions: Members highlighted government initiatives including regional language understanding programs for agricultural communities and AI-powered digital identity theft reduction systems, emphasizing the need for scalable implementation across diverse user bases. 

Strategic recommendations included:

• Legislative Framework Enhancement: Participants recommended implementing strict cyber security legislation with clear supply chain security requirements, stakeholder consultation processes, and harmonized cyber rules across sectors.
• Public-Private Partnership Strengthening: The session emphasized the critical need for active industry partnerships, enhanced threat intelligence sharing models, and robust collaboration frameworks to navigate the evolving threat landscape.
• Capacity Building and Awareness: Members stressed the importance of cyber security awareness programs, best practice sharing across organizations, and ensuring that security measures dynamically adapt as AI capabilities advance.

The workshop concluded with recognition that AI is rapidly evolving and requires dynamic baseline adjustments in security approaches. Participants emphasized the need for anticipatory regulation, regional alignment through Indo-Pacific alliances, and maintaining agility in security frameworks while fostering innovation for better services across critical infrastructure sectors. The session reinforced the importance of continued dialogue and collaboration between government and industry stakeholders to ensure that cyber security measures keep pace with technological advancement while supporting regional digital resilience and growth in the APAC region.