Ignoring the enemy: Singapore’s businesses snub cybercrime threats

Most firms are willfully at risk.

The cybercrime threat is hiding in plain sight, and yet majority of Singapore’s businesses still choose to ignore it. A staggering 68% of Singaporean executives believe that cybercrime poses a very low risk to their business, a survey by Ernst and Young revealed.

This complacence persists in spite of a slew of recent cyberattacks. EY's Global Fraud Survey noted that Singapore is particularly at risk because of its position as the region’s business hub.

According to EY, “These survey findings suggest that executives may not have a proper appreciation of cybercrime risks. It would appear that management and boards are struggling to respond to long-standing threats, let alone addressing emerging risks such as cybercrime.”

Here’s more from the report:

Globally, respondents see hackers as the biggest concern (48%) and are underestimating the risk from organized crime syndicates as well as foreign states.

Singapore respondents believe that the main sources of cybercrime risks are expected to come from employees or contractors (56%), hackers (50%), and competitors (46%).

With high-profile cybercrime incidents making headlines worldwide on a regular basis, and given Singapore’s position as a highly connected business hub for the region, there inherently lies a real risk of cybercrimes.

Pressure on companies for timely disclosure of breaches is rising in many jurisdictions, so these issues will require attention from the legal and compliance functions.

Boards should expect management to have a robust incident response strategy in place, and as cyber risks could relate to the integrity of financial statements, audit committee members too have to be alert to today’s cyber threat environment.