Philippines hit by most cyberattacks in Southeast Asia
THE PHILIPPINES has been hit by the highest number of cyberattacks in Southeast Asia this year, prompting organizations to automate and prevent future incidents, according to a report.
Businesses have had to double down on their operational technology security for critical infrastructure amid an increase in attacks, Steven Scheurmann, ASEAN vice-president at Palo Alto Networks (PANW), said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
The PANW 2023 State of Cybersecurity ASEAN report said 29% of Filipino organizations experienced an increase in cybersecurity-related incidents of 50% or more, with 51% feeling that they are at high risk from threats.
The cyberattacks affecting businesses in the country included malware (66%), phishing and spear phishing attacks (63%), and password attacks (56%), the report said.
Organizations now need to find more extensive cybersecurity solutions due to the growth in digital transactions, which could expose their corporate network, PANW said.
“We have to be in a position to prevent a cyber incident,” Mr. Scheurmann said. “Automation allows us to deal with all of the data being collected and all the potential risks out there.”
“This allows security analysts to be proactive by creating black swan events to prepare for the incidents before it happens.”
The report noted that 90% of Filipino organizations said they are confident about their adopted security measures, but small and medium businesses have limited and relatively weaker resources to improve their cyber defenses.
Cloud security adoption (44%), identity and access management (44%), and a security orchestration, automation, and response strategy (41%) were among the top strategies used by Philippine organizations to boost their defenses.
Companies also implement a unified operational technology and information technology strategy (75%).
Large businesses in the country are including cybersecurity in monthly boardroom discussions (56%), steady from last year, with 68% also increasing their cybersecurity budget.
Increasing digitalization (53%), adapting to new regulations on stricter data privacy (48%) and optimizing operations (44%) were seen as main drivers of the budget increases.
Artificial intelligence (AI) integration is seen as the leading security technology that businesses consider, with 54% looking at the potential of machine learning, predictive analytics, voice recognition, and sentiment analytics in strengthening security measures in the next one to two years.
“AI is important for us to secure the Philippines and have a better security posture,” said Oscar Visaya, Philippine country manager at PANW. “We need to relook at our cybersecurity strategies — as companies, as a country, and as individuals.”
“Companies, specifically those aggressively digitalizing, have to sit down all their teams and talk about how they can go about cloud security in a more automated and orchestrated way,” Mr. Visaya said. “Taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity is the need of the hour, which will need an all-hands-on-deck initiative with active participation from everyone within the organization.” — M.H.L. Antivola
