One Fifth of APAC Organisations Were Hit by Seven or More Cyber Attacks in The Last Year

Trend Micro’s Cyber Risk Index, now with worldwide data, reveals elevated risk of attack

AUCKLAND, 28 January, 2021 – Trend Micro Incorporated, the leader in cloud security, published survey findings revealing 18% of APAC organisations suffered seven or more attacks infiltrating their networks or systems over the past year, and the majority (81%) suffered one or more attacks. Over two thirds (76%) of surveyed organisations in APAC expect that such attacks are “somewhat” to “very” likely to be successful in the coming 12 months.

The insights are published in the latest version of Trend Micro’s Cyber Risk Index (CRI) https://www.trendmicro.com.au/cyberrisk) calculated by the Ponemon Institute by measuring the gap between organisations’ current security posture and their likelihood of being attacked.

“The CRI is fast becoming an indispensable resource for CISOs looking to assess their readiness to respond to cyber attacks,” said Dhanya Thakkar, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. “This year we’ve added data from Europe and APAC to provide truly global insight. It will help organisations across the world find better ways to cut through complexity, mitigate insider threats and skills shortages, and enhance cloud security to minimise cyber risk and drive post-pandemic success.”

The CRI is based on a numerical scale of -10 to 10, with -10 representing the highest level of risk. The current global index stands at -0.41, representing “elevated” risk. Although risk is lowest in APAC (-0.02) due to perceived greater cyber preparedness, all organisations show an elevated risk as all regions exhibit approximately the same level of risk.

Responding organisations in APAC claimed their top cyber-threat risks are:

1. Ransomware
2. Man-in-the-middle attack
3. Clickjacking
4. Phishing and social engineering
5. Botnets

Across APAC, organisations’ key concerns are:

1. Customer turnover
2. Stolen or damaged equipment
3. Lost intellectual property (including trade secrets)
4. Disruption or damages to critical infrastructure
5. Productivity decline

“Trend Micro’s CRI is a useful tool for companies to better understand their cyber risk,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, CEO for Ponemon Institute. “Expanding this to be a global resource in 2020 opens the door for more organisations to leverage this useful information. Businesses of all sizes and industries across the globe can use the CRI to improve their protection strategy and better prepare their cybersecurity posture in the year to come.”

There were differences between certain regions as well. In the US respondents were unique in listing the cost of outside consultants as a top negative consequence of attack, while in APAC damage to critical infrastructure concerned organisations.

The top APAC security risks within IT infrastructure were highlighted as:

1. Organisational misalignment and complexity
2. Cloud computing infrastructure and providers
3. Shortage of qualified personnel
4. Negligent insiders
5. Malicious insiders

This is the third CRI study and shows a significant increase in cyber risk in 2020. The complete report shows this change over time, includes the greatest security challenges for businesses in APAC, and tips to minimise security risks.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Leveraging over 30 years of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro enables resilience for businesses, governments, and consumers with connected solutions across cloud workloads, endpoints, email, IIoT, and networks. Our XGen™ security strategy powers our solutions with a cross-generational blend of threat-defence techniques that are optimised for key environments and leverage shared threat intelligence for better, faster protection. With over 6,700 employees in 65 countries, and the world’s most advanced global threat research and intelligence, Trend Micro enables organisations to secure their connected world. https://www.trendmicro.co.nz