Awwa adopts Darktrace's cyber threat technology
The AI system helps the NGO to identify threats, focus resources on the most strategic security initiatives
Vivien Ang
Singapore
DARKTRACE, an AI company for cyber defence, has announced that Singapore social service organisation Awwa has deployed the technology across its digital infrastructure.
Sanjay Aurora, managing director, Asia-Pacific of Darktrace, said: "The reality is, no matter the size and scale of your business, no one is immune from this new age of cyber threat. Attacks are sophisticated, fast-moving and indiscriminate. Any organisation that houses data or has a digital presence, including NGOs, are viable targets for cyber criminals.
"NGOs in particular are tasked with the crucial, yet difficult, challenge of defending sensitive data with limited resources. Darktrace AI is widely adopted by this sector because of its ability to act as a "force multiplier" for NGOs. Not only is the technology capable of identifying threats, it also fights back in real time on behalf of these lean security teams. And with the AI doing the heavy lifting, non-profit organisations can focus their resources on the most strategic security initiatives."
Awwa offers services to over 10,000 people with special educational and social needs, ranging from intervention programmes for pre-schoolers, to health and social assistance for vulnerable seniors. The organisation is thus tasked with securing highly sensitive client data and critical business operations.
Jonathan Koh, IT manager of Awwa, said: "Data loss, whether caused accidentally by an employee, or maliciously by criminals, is a huge concern. Like most non-profit organisations, we have a lean IT team and limited capacity to constantly monitor all of our network activity. With AI, we can now identify potential risks in real time."
He added that everyone is at risk of being hit by cyber attackers. As attacks become more automated, cyber criminals have been given the ability to hit any organisation, en masse and at random - they do not find out who you are before attacking.
"Even though we are a small organisation, cyber defence is still important for NGOs because of the sensitive client data we are entrusted with protecting. Healthcare data has been compromised multiple times in Singapore and when you talk about cybersecurity in this sector, it boils down to protecting people. It is important to keep tight internal control over the transfer of data," Mr Koh said.
