Trend Micro makes Singapore regional HQ, invests in new capabilities

Singapore

CYBERSECURITY firm Trend Micro has designated Singapore its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) headquarters amid growing demand for threat-monitoring solutions in the region.

On Monday, the company unveiled its new 12,000 square foot office at Suntec Tower 4, which will house a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Security Operations Centre (SOC).

The centre will monitor threat activity across customers' endpoints and networks 24 hours a day, look out for compromised security and investigate any cyberattacks.

The SOC will be part of Trend Micro's MDR operations across North America, Europe and South-east Asia.

Trend Micro has existing MDR SOCs and service platforms in the Philippines, Germany, Ireland and the US.

AMEA is one of the fastest-growing regions for Trend Micro's overall business, said Kevin Simzer, the group's chief operating officer, at a press briefing on Tuesday.

More specifically, there is growing appetite for MDR services as cyberattacks become more frequent and harder to detect, added Dhanya Thakkar, AMEA vice-president at Trend Micro.

Singapore is ideal to host both the SOC and AMEA headquarters, given its leadership in cybersecurity, Mr Thakkar said. "We know that Singapore leads the way in the region with its security practices. We believe this is the home from which we can drive a lot of right things from a cybersecurity perspective that help not only Singapore but Asean," he explained.

Trend Micro is enjoying healthy growth in Singapore. Its revenue from the country doubled between 2015 and 2018, Mr Thakkar revealed.

A key challenge for the business is the shortage of cybersecurity talent. To address this, Trend Micro is bringing its Certification Programme in IT Security to Singapore.

The two-month programme equips students with hands-on training and technical knowledge on running a cybersecurity business.

Trend Micro has already rolled out the programme in Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the US.

South-east Asian students who graduate from computer science-related majors can apply for the Singapore programme from the second half of this year.

Trend Micro's expansion in Singapore comes as other international players set up cybersecurity facilities here. Last week, US-headquartered telco CenturyLink launched its first South-east Asian SOC in Singapore to serve enterprises in the region.

Earlier this month, UK telco BT launched a new Singapore office to serve as the company's regional cybersecurity hub.