Thursday, March 28, 2024

Survey: PH companies have matured attitude on cybersecurity

Network security firm Palo Alto Networks recently released the results of a study on the state of security in the Asean region conducted right before the coronavirus pandemic blew up and resulted in a global lockdown.

Palo Alto Networks country manager Oscar Visaya

With participants coming from a diverse set of industries in Southeast Asia with IT-related and management positions, businesses from the Philippines appeared to be the most well-poised in facing cybersecurity issues head on.

The attitude leans more towards being proactive and not complacency, as 98% of these Philippine companies claim that they are actively reviewing standing operating procedures (SOPs) when it comes to cybersecurity concerns.

This comes in the form of updating these same policies and SOPs at least once a year — a mindset especially prevalent for sectors related to finance, transportation, and the government.

However, since the pandemic has revealed a new set of risks and related hurdles for these businesses, Palo Alto Networks country manager Oscar Visaya said businesses across the country must double back and review their current strategies and investments on cybersecurity in place.

Visaya added that businesses are suddenly pushed towards navigating the risks that “remote work and Covid-19-themed threats” come with.

“It’s encouraging to see that Philippine companies are consistent in giving due importance and attention to cybersecurity. This underscores businesses’ growing awareness on the importance of preventing successful cyberattacks that have the potential to disrupt businesses, as we’ve seen in recent years,” Visaya said.

The study also revealed that Philippine companies are the most transparent when dealing with cyberthreats. An impressive 98% responded that they observe the practice of reporting data breaches to authorities, which is done in compliance with guidelines set by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

Still, the increase in the amount of devices and security policies within an enterprise ultimately leads to a fragmented security posture which is also increasingly difficult to maintain and monitor.

That is why more organizations are focusing on automated security solutions that operate across multiple environments and, at the same time, cut costs in the process.

“Philippine companies are being confronted by new cyber risks and perennial threats, which leave cybersecurity teams and the broader workforce with little choice but to adapt. The race is now on for businesses to leverage new tools such as automation and machine learning to close the gap as fast as they can, and secure both an ever-expanding network and a growing number of connected devices,” Visaya said.

All 400 respondents came from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore, a hundred participants from each one. The online survey ran through February 6-15, 2020.

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