Singtel cashes in on Asia’s mounting cybersecurity woes

Selling security solutions to businesses will be lucrative.

Singtel’s acquisition of cybersecurity firm Trustwave will allow it to exploit the growing need for advanced risk mitigation tools among Asian Enterprises, according to a report by BMI Research.

Singtel will begin its cybersecurity push in the Philippines, which is consistently targeted by industry-specific malware.

“As they make the transition to digital platforms, Asian economies will be subjected to increased cyber security risks. Through its acquisition of Trustwave and ownership of some of Asia's largest telecoms operators, SingTel is well-placed to exploit the growing need for advanced risk mitigation tools,” BMI Research said.

With the help of its 21.5%-owned affiliate Globe Telecom, Singtel will aggressively target the country's enterprise sector to offset slowing organic growth in the consumer services sector.

Besides Globe in the Philippines and its domestic operations in Singapore, SingTel has also invested in telecoms operators in Australia (Optus), India (Bharti Airtel), Indonesia (Telkomsel) and Thailand (AIS).

“Between them, these companies serve hundreds of thousands of enterprise clients across multiple industry verticals, making for a sizeable and lucrative addressable market that - so far - has not been adequately served by advanced digital security services,” BMI said.

“Such services and solutions will also augment the appeal and robustness of the IT and digital media offerings of other SingTel units targeting the enterprise sector, including IT services provider NCS, digital marketing company Amobee and digital technologies investment hub Innov8,” the report added.