Businesses ramp up cybersecurity spending amid cyber threat woes: report

Majority expressed intention to invest in cybersecurity.

Singapore saw 87% of businesses expressing their intentions to allocate funds to cybersecurity this year, up from the 72% reported in 2022 as cyber threats escalate, according to a survey by KnowBe4.

The survey, which polled IT decision-makers in the city-state, showed phishing was the most prevalent risk for over half of the respondents last year compared to just 45% in 2022. Almost two in five (38%) were concerned with business email compromise, an increase from 30% in 2022, but down from 40% in 2021.

“The planned increase in cyber spend demonstrates that protecting organisations remains a high priority for Singaporean IT professionals,” David Bochsler, APAC KnowBe4 spokesperson, said. “As the nation accelerates its digitisation efforts, there is a heightened sense of urgency to shield organisations from evolving cyber threats.”

However, less than half of respondents believe that employees are aware of the impact of a cyber-attack on their businesses.

Less than 40% are confident that employees can identify phishing and compromised emails and only 40% of employees report suspicious emails. Only 42% of respondents are confident that they know the steps to take following a cyber attack or data breach in their businesses.

In response to the rising security risks, cybersecurity awareness training programs with ongoing and relevant content emerged as the most popular area of investment (64%), followed by cybersecurity software solutions (61%) and employee policy changes related to cybersecurity (55%). 

"With an emphasis on spending cybersecurity funds on security awareness training, it is clear that employees’ behaviour is a major concern when it comes to cybersecurity risk,” Bochsler said.