Six in 10 companies score well on cyber security

Singapore ranked third in terms of average cyber exposure.

Six in 10 Singaporean companies have little to no cyber exposure, higher than the global average of 40%, cyber intelligence firm Kinkayo revealed.

According to Cyber Exposure Index (CEI), amongst 11 markets, Singapore ranks third in terms of average cyber exposure at a country level.

Singapore followed Hong Kong, with a 74% rate, and Australia, with 69%.

Kinkayo said the greater the amount of uncovered data for a company, the higher the risk, and the higher CEI score.

Companies were given a score from zero to five, zero representing no exposure, whilst five saying most exposure.

Out of 723 listed companies, 31.7% scored zero, whilst 30.4% scored one.

Singapore had an average exposure of 1.2, according to the CEI.

Kinkayo collected data from publicly available sources, like the dark and deep web and data breaches to identify signs of sensitive information, exposed credentials, and hacker activity.

Kinkayo president and CEO Mikko Niemelä said, "In the case of Singapore, more than six in 10 listed companies have done their due diligence to boost defences and ensure no loopholes in their organisations. By understanding where critical information is stored, from where is it leaking and how it is exposed, companies greatly mitigate the impact of a cyber attack. This is commendable and a right step towards building a transparent business environment."