Governing
generative AI
securely and safely
across APAC
By Chris Novak, Senior Director, Cybersecurity Consulting, Verizon

Introduction
Mastering artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial to gain acompetitive advantage. Enterprises may unlock a returnon investment in a little over a year, with an average return
approaching $4 for every $1 invested.1
However, achieving mastery hinges on governanceor “Responsible AI” instilled as a safeguard and ethicalcornerstone. It also means meeting specific threats
and vulnerabilities associated with GenAI, including
technical aspects, attack vectors, and the need forrobust security measures.
Although AI-related attacks currently make up a small
percentage of overall attacks in our current 2024 Data
Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)2 , they are still an
important topic due to their potential growth in the future.
Deploying new AI use cases can help address some of theworld’s biggest problems in healthcare, finance, climatechange, energy, fire prevention, Industry 4.0, productivity
and customer commerce. Verizon, a trusted partner, isdeeply committed to helping organisations leverage AI totackle these critical challenges.
Combining 5G’s faster speeds, lower latency, and greater
capacity with AI, cloud, and edge computing will enable data
to move freely and easily across your business network. 3
However, it’s essential to acknowledge that securing thisinnovation is a profound challenge. It’s a challenge that bothchief information security officers (CISOs) and the C-suite
are grappling with today.
We explore the promise and threat of this transformativetechnology in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which
represents 65% of the world’s population4 and generates
over 54% of its gross domestic product (GDP)5 . Given thesestakes, immediate action is required to implement effective
governance and security measures to protect these
innovations and ensure their ethical deployment.

1 https://news.microsoft.com/source/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/US51315823-IG-ADA.pdf
2 https://www.verizon.com/business/en-au/resources/reports/dbir/
3 https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/articles/s/5g-and-ai-creating-connected-global-business/
4 https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/populationtrends#:~:text=The%20Asia%20and%20the%20Pacific,populous%20countries%2C%20China%20and%20India
5 https://www.worldeconomics.com/Thoughts/The-Future-is-Asian.aspx#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20Asian%20share%20of,for%20less%3A%20about%2033%25

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific2

GenAI: The promised land?
Unlike predictive AI, generative AI (genAI) has the potential
to create or generate new content, ideas or data patterns
that weren’t explicitly programmed into our system.
1. Infrastructure enhancement: GenAI enables the processing
and transportation of large amounts of data necessary
for training more complex AI models, enhancing network
performance and reliability.
2. Operational transformation: GenAI impacts internal
operations, particularly in sales and engineering.
Chat-style genAI tools query past deployments, design
choices and customer solutions, democratising accessto previously siloed information.
3. Product development and customer service: GenAI
offers near real-time data analysis and customer
interaction possibilities, such as video stream
transcription and instant customer support. This could
lead to more dynamic and responsive services.
Verizon Connect recently introduced its advanced AI
Dashcam solution to the APAC region. The dashcam acts
as a trusty co-pilot for fleet drivers 6 . As you drive down abusy street, the dashcam offers real-time coaching, such asa gentle reminder to keep a safe distance when you get too
close to another vehicle.
Globally, enterprises using our 5G platforms are finding
novel ways to deal with the rapid digitisation of data from

distributed networks. Healthcare organisations are using
real-time insights from monitoring devices to improve
clinical decision-making.
Supported by AI-enabled solutions like intelligent
video surveillance7 and equipment tracking, healthcare
practices are re-imagining ways to help improve diagnostic
procedures, operating room analytics and patient safety.

Expanding attack surfaces
However, AI also exposes an attack surface layer that
previously hadn’t been considered, while driving demand forcloud migration and distributed 5G capabilities. 8
These expanding attack surfaces, combined with thesophisticated capabilities of generative AI, create asignificant risk for enterprises that adopt AI solutions
rapidly without full awareness or consideration of what
could go wrong.
Alongside these increasingly sophisticated threats, arudimentary technique continues to drive many modernday attacks. Vulnerability exploitation remains one of
the top three techniques attackers use to gain accessto an organisation, with the 2024 Verizon Data Breach
Investigation Report (DBIR) highlighting the rapid rise ofzero-day vulnerabilities, stressing the critical need for
improved patch management and faster response times. 96 https://www.verizon.com/about/news/new-verizon-connect-ai-dashcam-delivers
7 https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/5g/5g-business-use-cases/workforce-productivity/patient-data-analytics/#solution
8 https://semiengineering.com/how-ai-in-edge-computing-drives-5g-and-the-iot/
9 https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/2024-dbir-data-breach-investigations-report.pdf

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific3Putting your emerging AI systems under the microscope
may reveal areas for improvement in your organisational AI
strategy, which in turn can increase your long-term security
posture. This is an important area of focus for IT leaders,with the number of common IT security vulnerabilities andexposures (CVEs) worldwide expected to rise by 25%
before the middle of 202510.

The dark side of genAI
These approaches, while exciting, can also give rise to
privacy considerations. As genAI technologies process andanalyse vast amounts of potentially sensitive information,
focusing on the accuracy of AI responses and the ethicaluse of data is paramount.
Large language models (LLMs) often make false claims,
called hallucinations. While their answers appear
convincing11 , they may only sometimes come from a factuallycorrect source. This raises serious concerns about theirreliability and the potential for misinformation in industries
like healthcare.
Researchers also discovered they could make ChatGPT,an AI model, reveal its training data12 just by repeatinga word again and again. This unusual request exposed
personal details, indicating it’s hard to stop AI models fromunintentionally sharing sensitive information
they’ve memorised.
Employees who input sensitive data into AI conversational
assistants risk unintended disclosures and breaches. Thiscan lead to proprietary information training AI, violating dataprotection laws and potentially exposing confidential details
to unauthorised users or third-party servers.
Businesses need a conscientious approach to AI
implementation, balancing innovation with responsibility
to protect user data and privacy.

Emerging AI vulnerabilities
The adversarial threat landscape of AI13 is shaped byanalysing real-world cyberattacks and security exercises,
revealing vulnerabilities unique to AI systems.
It’s an ongoing process, but some dangerous areas
are emerging:• Poisoning the data stream: When attackers manipulate
AI training data, introducing errors or malicious triggers.
This “poisoning” subtly reprograms the AI, embedding
vulnerabilities or backdoors that activate under specificconditions, compromising the system’s integrity
and reliability.

10 https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/100426-cves-expected-to-increase-25-in-2024
11 https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-11-20-large-language-models-pose-risk-science-false-answers-says-oxford-study
12 1 Nasr, M., Carlini, N., Hayase, J., Jagielski, M., Cooper, A.F., Ippolito, D., Choquette-Choo, C.A., Wallace, E., Tramèr, F. and Lee, K., “Scalable Extraction of Training Data from (Production)
Language Models,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.17035, Cornell University, 2023. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.17035
13 https://atlas.mitre.org/

• Evasion through deception: Through a technique known
as LLM Prompt Injection14 , attackers craft inputs that
deceive AI models, causing misinterpretations anderroneous outputs. This evasion technique bypasses AI
defences, exploiting vulnerabilities to execute unintended
actions akin to sneaking past security guards.
• Reconnaissance of architectures: Attackers explore
AI systems’ architectures using a technique known as
Discover Machine Learning (ML) Model Ontology 15
to identify weaknesses. By understanding an AI’s
framework, they pinpoint exploitable vulnerabilities,
tailoring precise attacks that undermine the system’s
defences with surgical accuracy.

Hyper focusing on real threats
The majority (68%) of cyber breaches still involve the humanelement — including social engineering attacks and errors,
excluding malicious privilege misuse, according to the
Verizon 2024 DBIR 16 .
At many cybersecurity conferences, there’s a buzz about
outlier examples of AI-fuelled threats, which can sometimes
lead to undue alarm.
There has also been concern over deepfake robocalls
and the threat of AI being used in new advanced social
engineering attacks around elections.
Focus on the actual probability of such attacks:• The likelihood of widespread attacks using advanced AI
techniques is currently very low.
• While there are instances where AI might be leveraged
for more sophisticated threats, these remain rare andusually target high-profile individuals rather than thegeneral public.
• Most people are still more susceptible to traditional
phishing attacks like email and text messages, rather
than AI-powered ones.
A flurry of news around 50 million cyberattacks on an
Australian bank 17 would show that only a few are related tofull-blown AI-generated sources. This perspective helps us
understand the actual risk landscape and focus defenceswhere they are most needed.

The role of AI governanceBusinesses are currently playing a cat-and-mouse gamewith threat actors who will only evolve their techniques andbecome more sophisticated if forced to.

14 https://atlas.mitre.org/techniques/AML.T0051
15 https://atlas.mitre.org/techniques/AML.T0013
16 verizon.com/dbir
17 https://www.mpamag.com/nz/news/general/bank-chief-reveals-the-volume-of-cyberattacks-banks-are-dealing-with/424684

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific5More concerning risks arise when fragile or incomplete
guardrails are considered for emergent AI models to drive
innovation or protect companies and governments.
The admission18 by Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs
Clare O’Neil that boards tell her they have a list of 30 or 40
people within the government they need to call when theycome under cyberattack, illustrates how AI must enhanceorganisational security and streamline response.
Organisations are excited to build their first internal genAI
solution. But, one of the first questions they need to ask
is what are they doing to test it? Random tests by those
unfamiliar with AI won’t reveal if a genAI solution is truly
secure. It’s like securing a home vs. the Pentagon — theapproach must be tailored and quantified.
Placing a regular penetration tester in a complex AI
environment invites vulnerabilities, especially as attack
surfaces expand into IoT environments and self-optimisingplants typical of Industry 4.0. Because when hackers comeknocking, they’re not playing by any rules. They’re out tocause chaos, and testers must be sharp and ready, thinking
a step ahead.

Why supply chains are vulnerable
Companies testing AI may also be considered criticalinfrastructure targets of nation-states with moresophisticated resources. With APAC expected to drive
70% of the world’s growth19 over the next 10 years, securing
supply chains is critical.
A recent attack on a prominent Japanese aerospace
manufacturer 20 and defence contractor demonstrates“fourth- and fifth-party risk,” where the actual depth of
supply chain vulnerability extends far beyond the direct
partner. With yearly revenues exceeding $1 billion andaround 10,000 employees, the company is a significant
contributor to broader national defence capabilities. The
cyberattack severely disrupted operations, suspending the
global website to block further unauthorised access.
Meanwhile, a recent report suggests 83% of Indiancompanies 21 experienced cyberattacks last year,
including supply chain breaches, resulting in significant
financial damage. Only 52% of these companies consider
themselves prepared for such cybersecurity challenges,
underscoring the need for stronger defences in supply
chains.

Supply chain risks are a global concern.
It’s well known that a cyberattack hits Australian assets
roughly every six minutes, including critical infrastructure.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission(ASIC) recently said 44% of companies surveyed had yet
to develop a plan to stop data breaches from supply chain
partners 22.
Also consider the implications for giant global sporting
events such as the approaching Brisbane Olympics. AI
attack vectors will likely be the principal driving force behindcyber breaches for these gatherings in 2032, potentiallycarrying massive financial and infrastructural risk.
During the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII, the Verizon Frontline
public safety team worked with dozens of federal agencies
to ensure defence teams were ready to combat everythingfrom chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats
to cybersecurity attacks. The team constantly conducted
infrastructure and venue security assessments to stayahead of potential attacks.

Safeguarding genAI
Minster O’Neil highlights the extreme risks around using
and safeguarding AI – not only in Australia but for the entire
APAC region: “[We] face the most challenging geostrategic
circumstances 23 that we’ve confronted since the Second
World War. We live in a region of strategic competition,and cyber will be integral to how the events of the coming
decade play out.”
Nations must focus their efforts to get game-ready andbecome more cyber secure by 2030. To get there, nations in
the APAC region, including their private sectors, must startbuilding applications based on ‘responsible AI’.
Without strong governance, AI could cause more harm thangood, leading to unethical outcomes, biased models andmisinformation.
The Verizon 2024 DBIR shows the Public Administration
section had the highest number of incidents (12,217) with
1,085 confirmed data disclosures24 .

18 https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/afr-cyber-summit-18092023.aspx
19 https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/pwc-asia-pacific/global-supply-chains-the-race-to-rebalance.html
20 https://westoahu.hawaii.edu/cyber/global-weekly-exec-summary/defense-contractor-japan-aviation-electronics-falls-victim-to-a-cyber-attack/21 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/over-80-indian-companies-hit-with-cyber-attacks-last-year-report/articleshow/103394017.cms
22 https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-300mr-asic-calls-for-greater-organisational-vigilance-to-combat-cyber-threats/
23 https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/afr-cyber-summit-18092023.aspx
24 https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/2024/industries-intro/public-administration-data-breaches/

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific6Mobilising around genAI
AI principles aim to steer technology toward societal
benefits in the APAC landscape. Yet, the real test lies intheir enforcement across this diverse region.
While ethical guidelines aim to curb AI’s misuse without
firm regulations25, the gap between vision and actionable
implementation remains critical:• Adopting guidance and tools to operationalise AI
principles varies greatly among APAC nations, raisingquestions about consistency.
• Legislation efforts, while promising, face the challengeof keeping pace with AI’s rapid evolution.
• Ambitious national strategies across countries like Japan,
Malaysia and Australia set high expectations for AI’s rolein development.
Notably, three front-runners have emerged in AI regulation
across the APAC region, each carving out a path others
might soon follow:• Singapore is a leader in developing practical tools for
AI safety. Recently the Infocomm Media Development
Authority (IMDA) published for consultation the proposed
Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI 26 .
This will support finalisation of the Model AI Governance
Framework in mid-2024.

• South Korea’s bold AI Act 27 will cast a wide net if
implemented, from general use to high-risk applications,marking a legislative first.
• Mainland China has taken a rules-based approach,with specific AI regulations 28 crafting a comprehensive
approach to AI management.
Businesses should create AI councils to fully harness
and leverage AI’s power and promise. Doing so can help
them transform business models, marketing, knowledge
management and software engineering responsibly
and securely.
Risk management must be fully embedded and integrated
to succeed, not playing catch-up. A risk quantification
service29 can help identify potential platform weaknesses
and AI compliance gaps.
Verizon cybersecurity assessment includes Red Team
Penetration Testing that uses simulated attacks to evaluatethreats, including AI. Penetration Testing can run automatedtests that probe systems to seek out attack vectors andvulnerabilities, and support target selection.
Additionally, Verizon has implemented AI governancemeasures, requiring data scientists to register AI models
for review and scrutinising large language models (LLMs)
to address potential bias and toxic language. These efforts

25 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cn/Documents/financial-services/deloitte-cn-fsi-acrs-gai-application-and-regulation-in-apac-en-231204.pdf
26 https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/press-releases-factsheets-and-speeches/press-releases/2024/public-consult-model-ai-governance-framework-genai#:~:text=SINGAPORE%20%E2%80%93%2016%20JAN%202024&text=The%20AI%20Verify%20Foundation%20(AIVF,last%20updated%20in%2020201
27 https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/02/koreas-path-to-digital-leadership-how-seoul-can-lead-on-standards-and-standardization?lang=en
28 https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/07/10/china-s-ai-regulations-and-how-they-get-made-pub-90117
29 https://www.verizon.com/business/products/security/cyber-risk-management/governance-risk-compliance/

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific7align with the broader push for responsible AI and are
integrated into their governance, risk management, andcompliance (GRC) services. 30
These tactical approaches need to conform tocybersecurity governance, risk management andcompliance (GRC), which are critical pillars in the pushfor zero-trust security.

The Secure-by-Design framework 34 for AI and tech means
even small businesses can start safely without big IT teams.
In total, 21 global agencies are working under the framework
to guide AI system developers in making cybersecurityfocused decisions throughout the development lifecycle.

Steering genAI safely into the future with
VerizonAll organisations in the APAC region must work
together to overcome genAI gaps by 2030. Disparities
in AI governance, from ethical guidelines to legislative
frameworks, could lead to uneven advancements andvulnerabilities, impacting everything from economic
growth to cybersecurity.

While many hope genAI will be “the great equaliser,” 35
the reality is different. Most government agencies andorganisations face knowledge and talent gaps that threaten
the safety and security of ordinary people across the region.

Singapore and the U.S. recently linked their AI governanceframeworks 31 , a groundbreaking move and a significant step
toward international alignment on AI policies.

Businesses should act now, not tomorrow, to quantify
their AI risk 36 . The direction and energy for this action mustcome from the C-suite – security is a culture that must be
driven from the top, rather than left as a function of the
security team.

Both countries collaborated with Japan and Australia 32
to guide organisations on how to use AI systems securely.
They have also teamed up to craft the first globally agreedupon Guidelines for Secure AI System Development33
to enhance the security of AI systems.

Verizon can help cyber teams forge a cross-functional
AI steering team, which is a critical step before building
an organisation’s first GenAI application. Working
collaboratively is vital to staying ahead in AI and ensuring
cyber safety.

30 https://venturebeat.com/ai/verizon-exec-reveals-responsible-ai-strategy-amid-wild-west-landscape/31 https://www.mci.gov.sg/media-centre/press-releases/singapore-and-the-us-to-deepen-cooperation-in-ai/
32 https://www.cyber.gov.au/resources-business-and-government/governance-and-user-education/governance/engaging-with-artificial-intelligence
33 https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-04/Guidelines%20for%20Secure%20AI%20System%20Development%20%28November%202023%29.pdf
34 https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/secure-by-design
35 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/02/generative-ai-society-equalizer/
36 https://www.verizon.com/business/products/security/cyber-risk-management/governance-risk-compliance/cybersecurity-assessments/

Over the last several years, our team has spent significant
resources developing specialised or applied AI tosolve everyday tasks related to network performance
optimisation, identifying trends, generating demand andenhancing customer service.

• Malware identification: AI tools analyse known malware
samples to recognise new variants and zero-day(previously unknown) threats.

Verizon trains large datasets to perform finite, well-definedtasks — AI is tailored to address specific operational or
business needs. We understand the benefits and the risks.

• Task automation: Routine cybersecurity tasks areautomated by AI, freeing up specialists to tackle morestrategic issues.

Verizon network processes 70 billion data points daily,
feeding these into advanced AI systems. This data comesfrom a diverse array of 29,000 sources, showcasing thevast scale and complexity of the digital ecosystem 37.

GenAI is a powerful solution that can be used to help
businesses, their employees and customers. Moving in thisdirection will not only provide a competitive advantage in theblossoming APAC marketplace – it will also make the regiona safer, more secure place for its people.

Our advice is customised for business needs, generatinga strong defence plan based on solid data and standards,
with detailed security reports and comparisons to industry
benchmarks.

• Password security: AI can generate and recommend
complex passwords that are difficult to crack.

For more information on how Verizon canhelp with AI security call.
Australia +61 2 9434 5000

Delivering AI-secure threat detection andanalysis

Singapore +65 6248 6600
Japan +81 3 5293 9000

Within this framework, we can use AI to refine the approachto bad actors:• Continuous monitoring: AI systems vigilantly monitor
network activity 24/7, uncovering anomalies that might
indicate a threat that humans could easily overlook.
• Automated Penetration Testing: These tests simulate
cyber- attacks on computer systems, networks, or
web applications to identify vulnerabilities that could
be exploited.
• Traffic analysis: AI distinguishes between normal
and suspicious traffic, enhancing the detection ofsophisticated cyber threats.
• Phishing detection: By learning the characteristicsof phishing and spam, AI helps pre-emptively block
malicious emails.

37 https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/interview/verizons-70-billion-network-data-points-highlight-genai-potential-and-challenges/2024/02/

Governing generative AI with confidence in Asia-Pacific9© 2024 Verizon. All rights reserved. The Verizon name and logo and all other names, logos and slogans identifying Verizon’s products and services are trademarks and service marks orregistered trademarks and service marks of Verizon Trademark Services LLC or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and service marks are theproperty of their respective owners. 03/24
This handbook was created by InnovationAus.com, with information and input from Verizon.