According to a recent research commissioned by Cisco, the little investment in cyber security at the ASEAN’s top listed firms is the main reason behind these firms standing to lose $750 billion of their current market capitalisation to cyber attacks.

Specifically, the research conducted by global management consultancy firm A.T. Kearney stressed that, due to the economic expansion and the on-going digital adoption, the growing strategic relevance among ASEAN’s firms was regarded as a prime target towards cybercriminals.

Additionally, the research titled ‘Cyber security in the ASEAN: An Urgent Call to Action’ revealed the reasons behind the alarming rate of cyber attacks among such firms including low preparedness, absence of a unified regional governance framework, shortage of skilled workers, the underestimation of the risk, and lack of adequate investment across the board as the ASEAN bloc is gradually becoming digitally interconnected.

Furthermore, the research paper attributed the rapidly evolving cyber security threats to the emergence of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the global shortage of skilled and qualified cyber security professionals.

Naveen Menon, president for Cisco Systems in Southeast Asia, noted, “The success of digital innovation and adoption among ASEAN firms hinges on the bloc’s ability to combat cyber threats. Aiming at developing a unified policy framework for the region, cyber security should be prioritised at policy discussions at the semi-annual ASEAN Summit. Therefore, the corporate sector needs to start treating cyber security as a company-wide issue which could be tackled by adopting a risk-centric approach rather than just an ordinary IT problem.”

Thuy Luong, general director of Cisco Vietnam, stated, “Vietnam fell to the 101st ranking among 195 countries in the global security index 2017, which was compiled by the UN International Telecommunication Union, 25 rankings down against 2016.”

“On September 11, the National Assembly (NA) brought up the need of issuing a law on cyber security at the fourth session of the 14th NA Standing Committee (NASC) in Hanoi. Nonetheless, all stakeholders in the ASEAN should co-operate closely to strengthen cyber security capabilities in order to effectively combat threats,” Thuy also added.

VIR