PETALING JAYA: Every business is jumping on the digital bandwagon today, driven by the potential for higher profits.
However, it is also a war zone out there. Cyberspace is littered with landmines in the form of data breaches, ransomware and malware.
The risks has made data security an essential part of doing business, according to Sandy Woo, country director of Veritas Technologies Malaysia.
Failure to ensure adequate defence is costly. It has been reported that cyberattacks cost Malaysian businesses nearly RM500 million in 2021, Woo, whose company specialises in data management, told FMT Business.
“I believe it (the losses) will escalate this year,” she said.
But this is only what has been reported. Woo estimated that for every case that makes the news, two more pass without notice.
According to a Cisco Systems Inc report titled “Cybersecurity for SMBs: Asia-Pacific Businesses Prepare for Digital Defence”, half of all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia have suffered at least one cyber incident in the preceding 12 months.
As a result of those attacks, the report said, 67% of Malaysian businesses have also lost customer data.
But such high risks have failed to deter many businesses from going ahead with plans to digitise, anyway. “It’s the wave of the future, so it is inevitable,” Woo said.
As she sees it, data is the new currency. “A lot of the systems and applications in our day-to-day life will be going digital. It is defined by software, literally,” she said.
However, as businesses start digitising, they will experience potential patches of security weakness. Therefore, they should consider a back-up strategy in case their systems fail, said Woo.
Things are made more complex, she said, with data now being hosted in the cloud.
“People expect their data to be safe in the cloud but, according to the contract, it’s a shared responsibility,” Woo said.
“The cloud service providers do not actually state they will have a proper back-up for your files. It’s your responsibility to also ensure you have your own copies so stolen data can be recovered,” she added.
To make matters worse, there is now a new form of cyber threat called “ransomcloud”, which refers to cyberattacks in the cloud.
Woo also cautioned against going digital for the sake of doing it. She said that while digitalisation will usually enable one to do more with less, there is also a cost.
Whether the benefits will offset the cost of possible cyberattacks will depend upon how well businesses mitigate the risks.
“Going digital is a must in today’s world because that’s the expectation from the customers,” she said.
But how much an organisation should spend on cybersecurity depends largely on the size of the business and the nature of the industry.
As Woo pointed out, companies that deal in complex and critical products and services, such as a forex operator, may have to spend millions.
Given that the form of cyberattacks are constantly evolving, it is incumbent upon business owners to also keep up with security updates and upgrades.
Cyberattacks manifest in loss of data, workflow disruptions, false messages, security breaches and ransomware. The worst scenario is when a ransom is paid, yet data encrypted by the attackers cannot be retrieved.
Woo also warned against complacency. “There will always be a threat (so stay alert),” she said.
She said businesses could stay safe by being aware of possible loopholes that could serve as doorways for attackers into the company’s operational environment. “Also adopt a zero-trust framework, where access for any user in any system for any data is controlled,” she said.
The key, Woo said, is to ensure that passwords are not shared, especially among users with different levels of access.
Raising awareness of the risks and costs of cyberattacks, not only within an organisation but also the public at large, is important to help mitigate the risks, Woo added. - FMT
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