The rising need for intelligent and quantum-safe defences across Asia

Asia is moving into a more exposed phase of cybersecurity risk. Artificial intelligence has accelerated the speed and scale of attacks, while advances in quantum technology are beginning to unsettle long-held assumptions about secure communication. These shifts are no longer theoretical. They are already influencing how organisations assess risk, prioritise investment, and define operational resilience.

Over the past year, AI-enabled threats have matured from isolated experiments into repeatable, automated operations. Attackers now use machine learning to map systems, probe supply chains, and execute social engineering campaigns with minimal human input. This has compressed response windows across industries that depend on continuous digital operations, including banking and telecoms, as well as transport and energy.

At the same time, quantum computing is forcing a longer view of security. Data and systems designed to remain trusted for decades are being assessed against a future in which existing encryption may be compromised. For sectors built on long-lived assets and critical infrastructure, the question is not when quantum systems become widely available, but whether defensive preparation begins early enough to matter.

Aerospace has emerged as the first environment where these pressures converge visibly. The sector combines real-time decision-making, global connectivity, and direct links between digital integrity and physical safety. What happens there offers early insight into challenges that other industries will soon face.

This makes the Singapore Airshow more than a showcase of platforms and technology. By bringing together quantum innovators, autonomous systems providers, defence stakeholders, and national cybersecurity authorities, it provides a setting where the region can take stock of its readiness to address intelligent and quantum-enabled threats and examine whether current approaches are sufficient for what lies ahead.

Why aerospace is becoming the first stress environment

Aerospace systems operate under conditions that leave little margin for error. Aircraft, satellites, air traffic control platforms, and ground systems depend on continuous, reliable data exchange. Decisions are time-sensitive, failures propagate quickly, and recovery options are limited once systems are in motion.

These characteristics make aerospace especially vulnerable to AI-enabled attacks. Automated tools allow adversaries to scan complex environments, identify weak points across supplier networks, and exploit them faster than human teams can respond. In this setting, the traditional model of periodic audits and static controls is proving inadequate.

The sector’s exposure is compounded by its cross-border nature. Aerospace infrastructure spans jurisdictions, regulatory regimes, and commercial relationships. A weakness in one part of the ecosystem, whether a software update mechanism or a communications link, can cascade across airlines, airports, logistics providers, and national systems.

This dynamic has reframed how risk is understood. Security failures are no longer treated as contained technical incidents. They are operational threats with potential safety and national security consequences. As a result, aerospace organisations are increasingly designing systems that assume disruption will occur and focus on how quickly operations can degrade safely and recover.

Dave Gurbani, Group CEO of CyberSafe, captures the scale of the shift. “Over the past year, AI has transitioned from a theoretical risk to a high-speed engine for automated exploitation. In Asia’s hyper-connected markets, we see AI being used to conduct massive-scale vulnerability research and sophisticated social engineering at a pace humans can’t manually defend against.”

The implications extend well beyond aviation. Financial institutions rely on real-time settlement systems. Telecom operators manage networks that underpin national connectivity. Logistics providers coordinate global supply chains through digital platforms. Each faces similar exposure to automated attacks and similar limits on manual response.

The aerospace experience points towards a broader adjustment. Other sectors will need to accelerate the move towards continuous control validation, system observability, and recovery planning. Waiting for visible failures before acting risks leaving defences structurally behind the threat.

Quantum technologies are reshaping secure communications

If AI changes the tempo of attacks, quantum technology challenges the foundations of trust in digital communication. Much of today’s security infrastructure is built on cryptographic methods designed for classical computing. Quantum computing threatens to weaken these methods, particularly for systems that must remain secure over long time horizons.

In aerospace, the implications are immediate. Communication between aircraft and ground systems, satellite links, and navigation infrastructure all rely on encryption to ensure integrity and authenticity. If those protections are compromised, the consequences extend beyond data exposure to operational safety.

This has shifted attention from abstract concerns about future decryption to practical questions about system lifespan and upgrade paths. Aerospace assets have been deployed for decades. Encryption embedded today may still be in use when quantum capabilities mature.

Dave Gurbani, Group CEO of CyberSafe, frames this as an operational risk rather than a theoretical one. “The aerospace sector provides a critical lesson: security is not just about data privacy, it is about operational safety. If we don’t act now, the communication backbone of global flight is at risk.”

Across Asia, this has driven interest in quantum-resilient approaches that go beyond incremental algorithm upgrades. Companies working in quantum communication are exploring how future defence-grade infrastructure might be built.

LQUOM is developing quantum communication technologies, including quantum repeaters, designed to extend secure links over long distances without relying on trusted intermediate nodes.

The distinction matters. Trusted-node architectures assume that certain points in a network are secure. In highly distributed, mission-critical systems, that assumption is increasingly fragile. A single compromised node can undermine an entire chain of trust.

Yuya Mochizuki, COO and CFO at LQUOM, points to aerospace as a clear signal of what lies ahead. “Aerospace teaches us that the next generation of cybersecurity must be built not only on stronger algorithms, but on fundamentally more secure communication layers.”

While aerospace may lead adoption, the relevance is broader. Financial markets, government communications, and energy systems all depend on data that must remain trustworthy for long periods. Early aviation pilot projects are therefore likely to accelerate cross-sector experimentation, as other industries recognise that quantum-safe planning is a prerequisite for long-term resilience rather than a future upgrade.

Human–machine teaming is becoming core to cyber defence

As threats accelerate, human-only defence models are reaching their limits. AI-assisted detection and automated response are becoming essential to manage volume and speed. The challenge lies in integrating these systems without eroding accountability or control.

In aerospace and defence contexts, human–machine teaming is already an established practice. Autonomous systems support real-time awareness and execution, while humans retain authority over critical decisions. Cyber defence is evolving along similar lines.

Enterprises are increasingly assigning AI responsibility for evidence collection, correlation, and low-risk remediation. Human operators intervene when judgment, context, or escalation is required. This reflects operational reality rather than ambition.

Yuya Mochizuki, COO and CFO at LQUOM, argues that the balance is shifting from detection accuracy to system integrity. “As AI accelerates cyber operations, the bottleneck is shifting from detection to the integrity of the communication channels themselves. If the channel is compromised, both machine-generated and human-approved actions lose their reliability.”

Experience from autonomous platforms reinforces this view. Work on aerial systems demonstrates how machine intelligence can enhance situational awareness without displacing human oversight. Data is processed at machine speed, but interpretation and authority remain human-led.

This has implications for how cyber defence systems are governed. Automation that cannot be explained or audited undermines confidence and slows response. Organisations are therefore prioritising transparency, traceability, and clear decision boundaries in their orchestration frameworks.

For leadership teams, the message is clear. Deploying AI in cyber defence is not just a technical upgrade. It requires investment in governance models, operator capability, and cross-functional coordination to ensure that speed strengthens resilience rather than creating new points of failure.

The region needs shared frameworks and coordinated readiness

The scale and interconnectedness of AI- and quantum-driven threats mean that isolated responses will fall short. Effective defence depends on shared baselines, coordinated planning, and alignment between public and private actors.

In Singapore, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore is shaping this approach through national standards and collaborative initiatives. Frameworks such as the Quantum-Safe Handbook and the establishment of a Cyber Resilience Centre reflect a shift towards anticipatory defence rather than reactive compliance.

These efforts highlight a wider regional need. Cryptographic agility, cross-sector exercises, and supply chain assurance cannot be addressed effectively within organisational or national silos. Threats move across boundaries faster than governance structures traditionally allow.

Policy also shapes how AI is used defensively. Clear accountability, audit requirements, and human oversight are needed to ensure that automation strengthens trust rather than introducing new systemic risks.

Convenors play an important role in bridging these gaps. From the perspective of Experia Events, this shift is already visible at the Singapore Airshow. Engagement has moved beyond product showcases towards deeper discussion on shared infrastructure resilience, cyber-physical risk, and long-term security readiness. Regulators, operators, OEMs, and cybersecurity specialists are increasingly using the event as a working forum to align priorities and explore cross-sector collaboration, rather than treating cybersecurity as a peripheral topic.

For Asia, the stakes extend beyond defence readiness. The ability to build and deploy secure, quantum-ready infrastructure will influence the region’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Aerospace may be the first stress environment, but the pressures it reveals are spreading. Intelligent and quantum-safe defence is becoming a foundation for economic stability and national resilience, and the window to prepare is already narrowing.

Editor’s note: This article draws on insights shared by technology and industry leaders from CyberSafe, LQUOM, Cyber Sierra, and Experia Events as part of a multi-company contribution to Tech Edition. Some inputs have been synthesised into broader industry analysis.