Overview:

Singapore is considered the #1 best place in which to do business, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. An international business hub, with a high concentration of the largest companies globally, Singapore is also a target-rich environment for cyber criminals.

With a reputation as "Asia's Switzerland," Singapore holds particular appeal for money-minded hackers. 

At this point in time, sophisticated email campaigns are proliferating in the region, some of which rely heavily on social engineering, and IT leaders are struggling to stave them off.

Research reveals that nearly half (46%) of Singaporean IT decision-makers cannot distinguish between legitimate emails and phishing scams, pointing to just how sophisticated cyber threats have become, along with the need for stronger technological frameworks and solutions with which to protect organizations.

Key Research Findings:

  • 72% of IT leaders mis-identified emails; marking authentic ones as phishing scams.
  • Deflection of responsibility was paired with lack of confidence in existing solutions. Fewer than 20% of participants viewed their existing solutions as adequate.
  • The majority of employees did not see themselves as having a role to play in preventing threats.
  • 42% of participants said that the government should bear responsibility for cyber attacks.

Declining Awareness and Responsibility:

Most concerning was the study’s finding that leaders’ sense of urgency around phishing threats had declined. Just 36% of participants felt that BEC (Business Email Compromise) attacks were serious threats to which they needed to pay attention. 

The research also showed that employees are less engaged with cybersecurity than they perhaps could or should be. Only 31% of employees reported engagement with cybersecurity responsibilities.

Forty-seven percent of enterprises placed cybersecurity responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of IT teams, while others advocated for government-based cybersecurity monitoring.

Business Impact:

The consequences of successful phishing attacks can be tremendous, extending beyond immediate data breaches to reputational damage, operational disruption, compromised intellectual property and regulatory penalties.

To protect your organization, implement advanced email security solutions with machine learning capabilities. In addition, leverage phishing simulation exercises that can be customized to your business environment.

The Harmony Email & Collaboration Difference:

At Check Point, we understand that conventional approaches to phishing protection are no longer enough. Our Harmony Email & Collaboration solution provides real-time, comprehensive protection that identified and blocks malicious emails before they reach users’ inboxes.

Our solution leverages AI-powered engines to detect anomalies in email content (including URLs and attachments) and sender behavior, as to flag phishing attempts. It can also learn based on inbound threats and prepare for never-before-seen attacks. 

As IT leaders around the world continue to endure pervasive challenges around email-based threat prevention, Check Point stands ready to provide the technology and expertise needed to protect critical business assets and environments.

For more information about how Check Point can assist your organization in strengthening its cyber security posture, please schedule a demo or contact our security experts for more information.