HCM CITY — Potential economic loss across Asia Pacific due to cybersecurity incidents can hit a staggering US$1.745 trillion, or over 7 per cent of the region’s total GDP, according to a new study titled “Understanding the Cybersecurity Threat Landscape in Asia Pacific: Securing the Modern Enterprise in a Digital World”.

Conducted by Frost & Sullvian and Microsoft, the study involved a survey of 1,300 business and IT decision makers ranging from mid-sized organisations with 250 to 499 employees to large ones with more than 500 employees. 

It found that more than half the organisations surveyed had either experienced a cybersecurity incident or were not sure if they had one since they did not perform proper forensic or data breach assessment.

“As companies embrace the opportunities presented by cloud and mobile computing to connect with customers and optimise operations, they take on new risks,” Phạm Thế Trường, country general manager, Microsoft Vietnam, said.

“With traditional IT boundaries disappearing, adversaries now have many new targets to attack. Companies face the risk of significant financial loss, damage to customer satisfaction and market reputation—as has been made all too clear by recent high-profile breaches.”

The study found that large organisations could incur a loss of $30 million, more than 300 times the average loss for a mid-sized organisation ($96,000).

Besides, cybersecurity attacks resulted in job losses across different functions in almost seven in 10 organisations that experienced an incident in the last 12 months.

To calculate the cost of cybercrime, Frost & Sullivan has created an economic loss model based on macro-economic data and insights shared by the survey respondents.

“Although the direct losses from cybersecurity breaches are most visible, they are but just the tip of the iceberg,” Trường said.

“There are many other hidden losses that we have to consider from both the indirect and induced perspectives, and the economic loss for organisations suffering from cybersecurity attacks can be often underestimated.”

According to the study, artificial intelligence (AI) is the next frontier in cybersecurity in cyber threat defence.

In a digital world where cyber threats are constantly evolving and the attack surface is rapidly expanding, the study says AI is becoming a potent opponent against cyber attacks as it can detect and act on threat vectors based on data insights.

It revealed that three in four of organisations in the region have either adopted or are looking to adopt an AI approach towards boosting cybersecurity. VNS