The study surveyed 1,714 technical specialists from enterprises with more than 500 employees across 16 countries, highlighting how cyber threats linked to supply chains and trusted relationships have become among the most pressing challenges in today’s security landscape.

Supply chain attacks typically involve hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party software or service providers to infiltrate target organizations. Over the past 12 months, one in three organizations globally has been affected by this type of attack.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam recorded particularly high exposure levels, with 34% of businesses reporting supply chain attacks and 27% affected by trust-based attacks. These figures place Vietnam among the most at-risk markets in the region, second only to China.

Workforce shortages and operational strain

The report identifies the lack of qualified cybersecurity personnel as the primary obstacle to mitigating third-party risks. Across the region, the shortage ranges from 34% in Singapore to a peak of 57% in Vietnam.

This shortfall is forcing security teams to juggle multiple priorities at once. In Vietnam, 48% of surveyed organizations said that balancing competing cybersecurity demands increases the likelihood that supply chain risks may be overlooked.

Despite these challenges, 21% of Vietnamese businesses expressed confidence in their current security measures - a higher proportion than in markets such as Singapore (14%) and India (11%). This suggests a divergence in how organizations assess their own defensive capabilities.

Rising complexity demands coordinated response

As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, experts stress the need for structured and consistent risk management frameworks.

Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at Kaspersky, noted that supply chain security should be managed with the same discipline as internal operations, including consistent verification of partners’ security standards.

Key recommendations from the report include adopting cybersecurity services - including outsourcing where internal resources are limited - investing in workforce training, conducting thorough assessments of vendors before engagement, embedding cybersecurity clauses in contracts and strengthening collaboration with partners on security practices.

Establishing strategic partnerships and implementing coordinated safeguards across the organization are seen as critical steps to enhancing business resilience against evolving cyber risks.

Du Lam