Batten the hatches for cybersecurity for the IoT age

CYBERSECURITY is continually a focus of news headlines and remains very much a topic under discussion across the globe. The latest annual RSA Cybersecurity Poverty Index[1], which surveyed 200 respondents from the Asia-Pacific and Japan, found that three-quarters of organisations face a significant risk of cyber incidents. As the world, its devices and its systems become increasingly connected and at risk of such incidents, the need to have the right cybersecurity defences in place has become clear.

Businesses are certainly aware of how much damage a successful data breach can cause. The Grant Thornton International Business Report for 2015 showed that cyberattacks cost Asia-Pacific businesses US$81 billion last year, while the total cost of global cyberattacks was US$315 billion. Cybersecurity has become a major boardroom issue, with employee education and their role in preventing cybersecurity incidents on the minds of the C-suite.

In my cybersecurity predictions for the Asia-Pacific this year, I had anticipated that cybersecurity would become an area of focus for policymakers in the region, with them moving towards a more active role in protecting the Internet and safeguarding its users.