Asian companies considered ‘juicy targets’ by hackers

Sirikit Oh

Advisen: What do you see as the greatest cyber risks today?

Sirikit Oh: Threats to cyber security continue to grow and evolve, and Asian companies are considered by many hackers to be juicy targets, partly due to a perception, which is certainly not always correct, that they are less well defended than other global corporates.

Many of the companies in the TMT space across Asia are exposed to cyber theft, which can result in the loss of intellectual property, client information and employee data. Hacking and sabotage are other major cyber exposures and create concern about business interruption and financial losses.

Advisen: What will the greatest threats be in 5 years’ time?

Sirikit Oh: That’s a tough call as TMT is a very fast-moving industry, and so is the cyber world. I think fraud, cyber theft and hacking are likely to remain very high up the threat list of many Asian businesses. The shape and form of those threats will inevitably change over the coming years as technology and the ingenuity of the perpetrators both progress.

Advisen: Is the insurance industry doing enough to adequately address these risks?

Sirikit Oh: The industry is trying its best to raise awareness by educating companies about potential threats and their financial impact. The challenge in Asia remains that mindsets can be slow to change and that leadership is not always receptive to the real life cases that have hit other organisations. High profile stories in the news about issues like the theft of client data are starting to open people’s eyes to the risks.

The other key point about Asia is that it covers some very different countries with a range of political, cultural and economic conditions. So legislation and protection around cyber are all at very different stages.

Advisen: What keeps you awake at night?

Sirikit Oh: I’m based in Singapore, but I travel a lot, so sometimes it’s the jetlag that’s keeping me awake. I’m a fan of single malt whisky, so a little nightcap sometimes helps! Macallan 18 is one of my favorites. Singapore is a small island with a very high population density, so the threat of a SARS-like outbreak or a major public health incident is a niggling concern, as it is for many others here.

The thing with my job is that I see some serious cyber security threat exposures to many Asian TMT companies, which is worrying in itself, but it’s the inertia of those companies to take up Cyber protection cover that makes it even more worrying!

Advisen: In your opinion, what is the single most important cyber risk development in the past 12 months?

Sirikit Oh: Growing awareness. Cyber cover is still a relatively new offer in Asia but interest and demand has picked up over the past year, although that demand is still highly dependent on the regulations in the respective countries. For example, Singapore’s recent enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act with a financial penalty per contravention of up to Singapore $1M has generated huge enquiries from TMT companies, although the take-up rate of such cover is still low.

A related development is that policy wordings have been improved. This has resulted in wider coverage for first and third party losses, as well as a higher limit of liability available for businesses.

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Sirikit Oh was recently hired by Willis Group as its managing director, Asia Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications. Formerly of Marsh, Oh was Technology Practice Leader for Asia, and Asia Head of Market Relationship Management.