Sound the alarm: Cyberattacks in companies soar by 89%

This is equivalent to 236 attackers per company in a year.

Cyberattacks have grown bigger amongst companies in Singapore, rising by 89% in 2021, Accenture’s  2021 State of Cybersecurity Resilience study showed.

This number represents an average of 236 attacks per company in a year.

The alarming number of cyber threats have pushed 90% of firms to increase their cybersecurity budgets, the study said.

Accenture said rapid cloud adoption may have contributed to this investment increase given that “many security tools have to be updated to accommodate cloud or more robust security is needed in a digital world.”

In Singapore, however, more than half (52%) of firms said security is not part of their “cloud discussion and that their organisation is still trying to catch up.”

About one-third of chief information security officers (CISO), including non-Singaporeans, who were surveyed cited poor governance and compliance practices around cloud security as the top reason that is hampering them from discussing cloud security.

Apart from finding cloud security “too complex,” companies said they also lack “skills internally to structure a proper cloud security framework.”

Securing more budget, however, doesn’t translate to better cyber resilience, the study said.

“CISOs must move away from security-focused silos and collaborate with the right executives in the organisation to understand business risks and priorities,” the study said.

“By drawing on the experience and insights of the wider leadership team, CISOs can gain a broader perspective that serves the whole business well,” it added.