• SG
  • magnifying glass search icon to open search field
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Get support
  • Under Attack?
Palo Alto Networks logo
  • Products
  • Solutions
  • Services
  • Partners
  • Company
  • More
  • SG
    Language
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Get support
  • Under Attack?
  • Unit 42 Threat Intelligence

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

Palo Alto Networks PHILIPPINES Mar 30, 2022 at 11:00 AM

 

New research from Palo Alto Networks reveals more than half of Philippine organizations conduct high-level cybersecurity discussions monthly

 

Philippines – March 30, 2022 – Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today unveiled new research which found ASEAN business leaders prioritizing 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 500 respondents representing businesses across the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, 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%) believe that cybersecurity is a priority for their business leaders today. Nearly three in four (74%) also believe their leadership has increased the focus on cybersecurity. More than half (56%) of Philippine organizations indicated that they have been discussing their cybersecurity strategy on a monthly basis.

Leaders also took concrete actions to beef up their organization’s cybersecurity capabilities, as 96 percent of organizations maintain a dedicated in-house IT team responsible for managing cyber risks. Over two-thirds (68%) are also planning to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2022, driven by the adoption of next-gen security capabilities (48%); the need to address existing cybersecurity gaps (46%); and the need to optimize operations (44%).

“The pandemic has served as a catalyst for ASEAN business leaders to pay greater attention to their cybersecurity defense measures. Many of them recognize 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.”

Philippine organizations perceive the highest level of risks to cyber threats (48%) among ASEAN countries. It is, therefore, unsurprising that 64 percent of Philippine organizations indicate that they have increased their budget for cybersecurity in 2022.

“It’s encouraging to see that Philippine businesses are confident and proactive in dealing with cybersecurity issues. According to the survey, the Philippines is the second-highest country in the ASEAN where the business leaders are confident of their cybersecurity measures and this speaks volumes about our nation’s awareness as well as preparedness to potential cyberattacks. Having said that, Philippine organizations should continue to focus on post-covid cyber protection in order to stay ahead of the evolving cyber threats,” said Oscar Visaya, country manager, the Philippines, Palo Alto Networks. 

 

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 is the increase in digital transactions with suppliers and other third parties (54%); the need to procure a wider array of cybersecurity solutions to protect themselves from cyberthreats (54%); and unmonitored and unsecured IoT devices connected to the corporate network (51%).

The majority of ASEAN organizations (94%) also experienced a rise in the number of attacks in 2021, with close to a half (42%) of the Philippine organizations experiencing up to 25% increase in disruptive cyberattacks.

 

Financial institutions prime targets but feel best-prepared against attacks

Amongst all industries surveyed, financial services (45%) and fintech (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 fintech (76%) compared to the average of 74%. Cybersecurity budgets have also increased the most for organizations in financial services (81%) and fintech (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 organizations 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 organizations accelerating their digital transformation by increasing investment in mobile applications (58%), expanding their remote workforce (57%), and expanding the footprint of smart devices (57%). 

Digital technologies have also become more interwoven into the workplace. As a result, nine in ten (90%) ASEAN organizations are evolving their cybersecurity strategies to stay protected from attacks. Across all sectors, adopting cloud security (54%) is the top post-pandemic measure taken by organizations, followed by IoT/OT security (46%) and access management (45%). The Philippines is ahead of the rest of the ASEAN countries as 96% of the organizations in the country will adjust their cybersecurity strategy for a post-pandemic world in which access management is a top concern (57%) followed by adopting cloud security (53%).

 

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 organizations to prioritize 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 

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

Datasheet

Firewall Feature Overview Datasheet

This datasheet provides a comprehensive overview of the critical PAN-OS features that power all next-generation firewalls from Palo Alto Networks.
June 9, 2014

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

White Paper

The State of Cybersecurity in ASEAN, 2020

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

Datasheet

Panorama Datasheet

Overview of Panorama, our centralized security management system, that provides you with global control over multiple Palo Alto Networks firewalls.
April 5, 2016

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

Video

ASEAN Partner TechTalk - March 2023 Positioning Cortex XSIAM and the Cortex Portfolio

Effective attack surface management means reducing risks, and spring cleaning is only possible if you have an up-to-date and comprehensive asset inventory.
March 27, 2023

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