As the digital world becomes a larger part of our lives, cyber threats increase in both impact and frequency. The global trend in the cyber landscape is for attacks to be less profit-motivated. To address this, a Singaporean telecommunications provider is launching a new suite of cybersecurity solutions developed in collaboration with an India-based global IT solutions provider. Cybersecurity consulting, incident response, data protection, vulnerability testing, managed firewall, and managed endpoint are all part of the new suite of solutions
The offering is primarily aimed at Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the telco claiming that the new suite comes at a time when nearly half of all reported crimes in Singapore are cybercrime-related. Indeed, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) last month flagged an increase in cyber threats, such as ransomware and online scams, during 2020.
Nearly 40% of cyberattacks in Singapore target small and medium enterprises. The most common methods were phishing attempts and ransomware.
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore
The CSA’s latest report revealed that 89 ransomware cases were reported to the agency in 2020, representing a sharp rise of 154% from the 35 cases reported in 2019. These cases affected mostly SMEs and hailed from sectors such as manufacturing, retail, and healthcare.
This is a concerning trend in Singapore, where SMEs account for 99% of businesses and employ more than 70% of the workforce. SMEs play an important role in the expansion of the economic value chain and are a component of the digital economy. Moreover, as subcontractors and vendors to large enterprises and even government agencies, they are the first link in Singapore’s business supply chain.
With more SMEs going digital in the industry 4.0 environment, they may become vulnerable to cyber threats such as phishing attacks, defacements, and ransomware. For many lean SMEs, being hacked would mean that normal operations would come to a halt. This results in a loss of revenue as well as a negative impact on their company’s reputation. A malware attack could be the start of the end for a small business. If personal data is stolen, they may face legal consequences.
SMEs are increasingly shifting to remote or hybrid work environments and, consequently, cybersecurity threats targeting their vulnerabilities will continue to rise. Experience and data on SMEs show that they may be reluctant to adopt modern cybersecurity tools due to their perceived high cost and complexity. SMEs are typically more susceptible to cyber-attacks because they often lack the knowledge and ability to deal with such threats.
The managing director of the telecommunications company believes that all organisations deserve world-class protection no matter their size. The new cybersecurity solutions bring enterprise-grade protection to small and medium businesses, allowing them to focus on their deliverables and giving them one less thing to worry about. This is more pertinent in the context of working in the context of a pandemic.
OpenGov Asia reported that The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) has launched a new “Better Cyber Safe than Sorry” national cybersecurity awareness campaign. The fourth edition of CSA’s national cybersecurity awareness campaign continues to focus on raising awareness and driving adoption of four good cybersecurity practices: use of strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication which is spotting signs of phishing; use of anti-virus software; and updating computer software.
The campaign focuses on drawing parallels between these four cybersecurity practices and our everyday life. For example, the analogy of using a strong lock to secure one’s home parallels the good cybersecurity practice of using strong passwords and enabling 2FA to secure one’s online accounts.
As cities continue to grow and develop in tandem with the digital revolution, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important for everyone, not just businesses. Cybercriminals have already realised this and have updated their tactics; SMEs must do the same. At the end of the day, all businesses are communities of people working together to achieve a goal, and the security of that goal is shared by all.
