Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions that defeat cyberattacks, today released its annual “State of Ransomware 2024” survey report, which found that the average ransom payment has increased 500% in the last year. In Singapore, organisations that paid the ransom reported an average payment of $1,584,130, with a global average of $3,960,917. However, ransoms are just one part of the cost. Excluding ransoms, the survey found the average cost of recovery reached $2.20 million, a decrease of more than $1 million since the $3.46 million that Sophos reported in 2023. Despite the so ..read more

Ensign InfoSecurity has identified Manufacturing as the most targeted industry by cyber threats in 2023.  This key insight was among many others in Ensign’s fifth edition of its Cyber Threat Landscape Report (CTL) 2024 launched today, which draws on Ensign’s proprietary and cyber threat intelligence sources. Manufacturing contributes over 20% to Singapore’s GDP, and companies in this sector  are targeted for three possible reasons: They possess an abundance of valuable data ranging from contracts, supplier details, trade secrets, industrial designs, and personal information They ope ..read more

ExtraHop has released its third annual Global Cyber Confidence Index, which found organizations are generally ill-equipped to manage and mitigate their cyber risk following a significant increase in ransomware attacks and cybersecurity incident downtime. Although an overwhelming majority (88%) of IT and cybersecurity decision makers said they are confident in their organizations’ ability to manage cyber risk, most acknowledged that they are frequently the victim of ongoing threats, and falling behind when it comes to identifying and remediating threats. Amid a recent onslaught of attacks ..read more

While much has been said of the potential of AI to replace human workers across swathes of the labour force, most survey respondents do not share this view, finds this year’s QBE SME Survey for Singapore. 605 SMEs were surveyed between December 2023 and January 2024, whereby Singaporean SME business leaders were polled for their views on operational risks that most affect SMEs – covering the areas of cybersecurity, AI, and workplace safety and health (WSH). One-third (32%) of survey respondents expect AI to eventually replace or take over jobs in their company. About a third of SMEs (30%) said ..read more

Awareness of today’s vast and complex cyber risk landscape is in decline among local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this year’s QBE SME Survey for Singapore reveals. 605 SMEs were surveyed between December 2023 and January 2024*, whereby Singaporean SME business leaders were polled for their views on operational risks that most affect SMEs – covering the areas of cybersecurity, AI, and workplace safety and health (WSH). 47% of respondents said that they were fully informed of possible cyber risks, 10% less than the 57% recorded last year. As 2024 saw a smaller number of SMEs (25 ..read more

SonicWall has released the 2024 SonicWall Annual Cyber Threat Report, which exposes all types of cyber behaviors and trends from digital adversaries to help partners build data-driven solutions to keep customers safe. 2023 proved to be a year of volatile, adaptive and creative digital threats, as threat actors continue to be relentless in their assault, leaving organizations looking for another layer of defense. Organizations are increasingly turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to alleviate pressure on IT departments. Managed services have emerged as a game-changing solution, providin ..read more

Sinch has announced the results from a survey of more than 2,000 global consumers on how they engage with brand communications. The findings reveal a strong preference for email over other channels, however most respondents will reevaluate their relationship with brands whose emails regularly end up in the spam folder. In fact, 52.7% of consumers said they would either feel frustrated, lose trust or even unsubscribe if emails from a brand regularly ended up in their spam folder. The survey results show the importance of complying with updated requirements from two of the world’s ..read more

IBM has launched its report ‘Leadership in the Age of AI.’ Based on a survey of 1,600+ senior leaders and C-Suite executives across the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Sweden, the report explores how leadership is transforming as the region’s businesses embrace generative AI. The rise of generative AI in 2023 has been nothing short of remarkable. As the technology went mainstream in the consumer market, progressive senior leaders were quick to respond, seeking to secure their place in the emerging transformation. It’s a safe bet that 2024 will be t ..read more

The KPMG Pulse of Fintech H2’23 report reveals that the global fintech market faced a series of hurdles in 2023, as total investment dropped to a six-year low of US$113.7 billion across 4,547 deals, down from US$196.6 billion across 7,515 deals in 2022. However, the second half of 2023 showed slight resilience with a marginal gain over the first half, rising from US$55.5 billion in H1’23 to US$58.2 billion in H2’23. This slight recovery was significantly bolstered by six notable deals exceeding US$1 billion each, including the acquisitions of Black Knight (US$11.7 billion) and Adenza (US$10.5 ..read more

Despite the challenges of 2023 and escalating geopolitical tensions, business leaders remain surprisingly optimistic for 2024, according to new research from Economist Impact and DP World, unveiled at the World Economic Forum. The primary driver is a growing belief that technology will transform the efficiency and resilience of supply chains. Amid escalating concerns about protectionism, global fragmentation and political instability, businesses are reassessing risks within their supply chains and pivoting towards friendshoring and dual supply chain strategies. The fourth annual Trad ..read more