Fighting fire with fire: How AI and Generative AI can defend South Asia against cybercrime

In March 2026, the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, discovered that AED 974,000 — roughly Rs. 87 million — had been wired to a fraudulent bank account. The method was not a sophisticated hack. A Dubai-based supplier’s email account had been compromised, and the attackers simply altered the bank account details in what appeared to be a routine payment instruction. The airline processed the payment in good faith. The money vanished. This was