Search
  1. Home
Location
Products Resources Partners Company
Location

Cybersecurity leads boardroom agendas among ASEAN organisations in light of pandemic-induced shifts

Palo Alto Networks SINGAPORE Mar 29, 2022 at 11:00 AM

 

New research from Palo Alto Networks reveals majority of ASEAN organisations (92%) believe cybersecurity to be one of the top priorities for business leaders

 

MALAYSIA – March 29, 2022 — Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today unveiled new research which found ASEAN business leaders prioritising cybersecurity issues at the board level, as a result of the disruptions brought about by COVID-19. The State of Cybersecurity in ASEAN study surveyed and received responses from 500 respondents representing businesses across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand on their response to the cybersecurity challenges in 2021 and outlook for the future. 

 

Cybersecurity becomes a top business priority

Against the pandemic backdrop, cybersecurity has risen to the top of the leadership agenda for many ASEAN businesses — a vast majority (92%) believes cybersecurity to be a priority for their business leaders today. Nearly 3 in 4 (74%) also believe their leadership has increased the focus on cybersecurity. 

Leaders are also taking concrete actions to beef up their organisation’s cybersecurity capabilities, as 96% of organisations reported maintaining a dedicated in-house IT team responsible for managing cyber risks. Over two-thirds (68%) reported plans to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2022, driven by the adoption of next-generation security capabilities (48%); the need to address existing cybersecurity gaps (46%); and the need to optimise operations (44%).

“The pandemic has served as a catalyst for ASEAN business leaders to sit up and pay greater attention to their cybersecurity defence measures — many are recognising the deep impact it can have on their business continuity. To manage today’s remote workforce in a digital-first environment, cybersecurity must be integrated horizontally across all facets of the business and considered as part of every corporate action,” said Ian Lim, field chief security officer, Palo Alto Networks. “As new and unexpected threats continue to shake up businesses of all sizes and industries, there needs to be closer collaboration between both technology and business leaders to tackle these novel challenges.”

 

Shift towards remote work brings on new cybersecurity challenges

With demand for remote access by employees working from anywhere becoming a norm, the infrastructure of many businesses hasn’t been designed to cope. Unsurprisingly, this working arrangement has brought on a new set of cybersecurity challenges.

The survey respondents reported that, amongst others, the most pertinent in Malaysia is the increase in digital transactions with suppliers and other third parties (58%); unmonitored and unsecured IoT devices connected to the corporate network (58%), and the need to procure a wider array of cybersecurity solutions to protect themselves from cyberthreats (55%); 

The majority of ASEAN organisations (94%) also experienced a rise in the number of attacks in 2021, with one in five (20%) Malaysian organisations experiencing 50% and more increase in disruptive cyberattacks.

 

Financial institutions prime targets but feel best-prepared against attacks

Amongst all industries surveyed, financial services (45%) and fintechs (42%) notably perceive themselves to be most at risk of cyberattacks. Of note, malware attacks were identified as  a top concern. 

However, these two industries are also most confident of the cybersecurity measures put in place to protect themselves from attacks. This confidence might stem from a higher focus on cybersecurity reported by business leaders in financial services (79%) and fintechs (76%) compared to the average of 74%. Cybersecurity budgets have also increased the most for organisations in financial services (81%) and fintechs (75%), compared to the 68% average. 

 

Evolving cybersecurity strategies for a post-COVID world

As COVID-19 increasingly drives work and leisure activities towards online platforms, ASEAN organisations predict that the one cybersecurity trend we need to pay attention to the most in 2022 will be for cyberattacks to affect our personal safety. This is against the backdrop of Malaysian organisations accelerating the remote workforce (68%), followed by increasing the investment in mobile applications (58%), Cloud adoption (52%), and 5G (39%).

Digital technologies have also become more interwoven into the workplace, due to the disruption of the pandemic. As a result, 9 in 10 (90%) ASEAN organisations are evolving their cybersecurity strategies to stay protected from attacks.  In Malaysia, the adoption of Revamping Threat Detection and Correlation systems (50%) and cloud security (49%) are two important measures to be implemented by organisations, followed by securing IoT /OT (44%), identity and access management (43%) and  Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) strategy (39%).

“In order to effectively partake in Malaysia’s journey of digital transformation, it is imperative for organisations to design and implement an effective and full-proof cybersecurity strategy. It is inspiring to see that Malaysian organisations have confidence in their cybersecurity measures and that they are highly aware of taking the right decisions in protecting the nation from cyber disruptions.” said Suk Hua Lim, country manager, Palo Alto Networks, Malaysia.

 

Here are some best practices and recommendations for enterprises to stay ahead of cybersecurity threats: 

  • Conduct a cybersecurity assessment to better understand, control and mitigate risks. This will help organisations to prioritise countermeasures and identify where resources are needed to defend against sophisticated attacks.

  • Adopt a Zero Trust framework to address the cybersecurity threats of today and design architecture with an “assume-breach” mindset. Deploy technology to continuously validate the legitimacy of digital interactions and establish rapid response capabilities to quickly address the early signs of a breach.

  • Choose a partner not a product. A good cybersecurity partner can provide the latest threat intelligence and offer practical advice on how to build a cyber resilient architecture across all environments (e.g., on-premises, cloud, edge). 

 

Note to editors

The survey was conducted online in November 2021 with 500 corporate IT decision-makers and business leaders across five key industries in ASEAN: Financial Services, Government/Public Sector, Telecommunications, Retail, and Fintech. There were 100 respondents each from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

 

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, the global cybersecurity leader, is shaping the cloud-centric future with technology that is transforming the way people and organizations operate. Our mission is to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. We help address the world's greatest security challenges with continuous innovation that seizes the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, analytics, automation, and orchestration. By delivering an integrated platform and empowering a growing ecosystem of partners, we are at the forefront of protecting tens of thousands of organizations across clouds, networks, and mobile devices. Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks and the Palo Alto Networks logo are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other trademarks, trade names, or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

 

Media Contacts

Fei Tierney
Director, Corporate Communications, Japan and Asia Pacific, Palo Alto Networks
ftierney@paloaltonetworks.com

 

PRecious Communications on behalf of Palo Alto Networks
panw@preciouscomms.com

ASEAN Sport Community is Back

Video

Những sai sót nghiêm trọng của các giải pháp ZTNA thế hệ đầu tiên

Sự chuyển đổi toàn cầu từ làm việc trưc tiếp sang làm việc từ xa đã dẫn đến những suy nghĩ vội vàng liên quan đến việc cung cấp quyền truy cập mạng và các đặc quyền bảo mật.
November 22, 2022
  • 0
  • 80

White Paper

Guide to Securing Microsoft Office 365 for the Enterprise

This paper describes how the Palo Alto Networks Security Operating platform secures your data in Microsoft Office 365 and other cloud applications.
August 16, 2018
  • 0
  • 1173

Webinar

Optimize your cost, improve your protection with manage service XDR

บริษัทต่างๆ ในปัจจุบันกำลังประสบกับความเสี่ยงต่อการละเมิดความปลอดภัยที่สูงกว่าที่เคยเป็นมา แม้ว่าความเสี่ยงเหล่านี้สามารถจัดการและบรรเทาได้ด้วยความเชี่ยวชาญที่เหมาะสม แต่ในปัจจุบันยังขาดแคลนทักษะด้านความปลอดภัยทางไซเบอร์ที่สำคัญทั่วโลกที่เพิ่มความท้าทาย
November 24, 2022
  • 0

Datasheet

Executive summary: A more secure everywhere

The journey to the cloud is not a linear one, and organizations choose to migrate to the cloud in a multitude of ways and approaches. The resulting complexity is the enemy of security. In fact, according to ESG, “36% of organizations use between 24 to 49 different security products while 19% use more than 50 different products from an assortment of vendors.” All this noise only makes way for more security concerns such as integration issues, misconfigurations, and access control. To overcome this complexity and succeed in the cloud, organizations must demand security solutions that can quickly and effectively scale with changing business needs. Prisma by Palo Alto Networks is the industry’s most complete cloud security offering for today and tomorrow, providing unprecedented visibility into data, assets, and risks across the cloud and delivered with radical simplicity.
September 5, 2019
  • 0
  • 333

White Paper

The State of Cybersecurity in ASEAN, 2020

Where ASEAN Organizations Are Winning—and Not Winning—in the Cybersecurity War.
July 9, 2020
  • 0
  • 1048

Webinar

ASEAN Partner TechTalk - November 2022: Journey from Zero Trust to SASE

The security landscape has changed drastically in the past few years and cyberattacks have become common, near daily events.
November 24, 2022
  • 0

Get the latest news, invites to events, and threat alerts

By submitting this form, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Statement.

black youtube icon black twitter icon black facebook icon black linkedin icon
  • USA (ENGLISH)
  • AUSTRALIA (ENGLISH)
  • BRAZIL (PORTUGUÉS)
  • CANADA (ENGLISH)
  • CHINA (简体中文)
  • FRANCE (FRANÇAIS)
  • GERMANY (DEUTSCH)
  • INDIA (ENGLISH)
  • ITALY (ITALIANO)
  • JAPAN (日本語)
  • KOREA (한국어)
  • LATIN AMERICA (ESPAÑOL)
  • MEXICO (ESPAÑOL)
  • SINGAPORE (ENGLISH)
  • SPAIN (ESPAÑOL)
  • TAIWAN (繁體中文)
  • UK (ENGLISH)

Popular Resources

  • Blog
  • Communities
  • Content Library
  • Cyberpedia
  • Event Center
  • Investors
  • Tech Docs
  • Unit 42
  • Sitemap

Legal Notices

  • Privacy
  • Trust Center
  • Terms of Use
  • Documents

Popular Links

  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Manage Email Preferences
Report a Vulnerability

Copyright © 2023 Palo Alto Networks. All rights reserved