Following a media briefing today, Palo Alto Networks, the global cybersecurity leader, unveiled the 2023 State of Cybersecurity ASEAN report. The study found that the Philippines, alongside Malaysia, experienced the highest number of disruptive attacks across ASEAN, in the past year. 29% of local organisations experienced a 50% or more increase in incidents. Securing operations technology (OT), especially for critical infrastructures, remains a top concern as essential services have seen higher disruptive attacks compared to other sectors.
Top 3 cybersecurity concerns:
Malware (66%), phishing and spear phishing attacks (63%), and password attacks (56%), are the types of attacks that Filipino organizations are most concerned about. With a growing reliance on cloud-based services and applications, local businesses say they are most challenged in cybersecurity because of increased digital transactions, which expose them to more cyber-risks (50%), risks from personal devices or home networks accessing corporate networks (49%), and the need to procure a broader range of cybersecurity solutions (44%).
Cybersecurity remains a top priority in the boardroom
Cybersecurity also continues to be a top priority for businesses in the Philippines. Similar to last year, 56% of local organisations shared that cybersecurity is discussed at a board level monthly. Furthermore, 68% of Filipino businesses have increased their cybersecurity budget due to increasing digitalisation (53%) and adapting to new or changing regulations that require stricter data privacy measures (48%)
Confidence level highest across the services sector
Across ASEAN, confidence in security measures is reflected across industry sectors in the region. It is particularly apparent in the Services (Banking and Financial) as well as Transport and Logistics sectors. While 51% of Philippine-based organisations feel that they are at high risk from cybersecurity threats, 90% of local organisations are confident in their adopted security measures. Compared to large organisations, small-medium sized organisations feel relatively less confident in coping with cybersecurity challenges due to constrained cybersecurity budgets and relatively weaker in-house cybersecurity talent.
Cloud security, IT/OT convergence are top strategies against attacks
To combat evolving threats in the past year, Filipino organisations implemented cloud security adoption (44%), identity and access management (44%), and a security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) strategy (41%). Organisations with OT (75%), including essential services, have embraced unified IT/OT cybersecurity teams to enhance their security posture and facilitate quicker responses.
AI Integration the next steps:
Regionally, AI integration is the top technology businesses across ASEAN, particularly those in the Telco/Tech/Communications industries. This reflects the approach of Filipino organisations, wherein 54% are looking into AI integration (including machine learning, predictive analytics, voice recognition, and sentiment analytics) in the next one to two years.
