The State of Email Security

99% of Singaporean organisations have been targeted by email-based phishing attacks in the past year

• 78% of Singaporean companies have experienced an increase in email-based threats
• 61% of Singapore respondents say cyberattacks are growing increasingly sophisticated
• 63% of Singaporean companies were harmed by a ransomware attack

Mimecast, an advanced email and collaboration security company, today announced the publication of its annual “The State of Email Security 2023” (SOES) report. The global survey is based on responses from 1,700 IT and security decision-makers, providing readers with key takeaways on the current threat landscape and offering recommendations to help organisations improve their cybersecurity posture.

Singapore Highlights from this year’s report

Cyber awareness in the C-suite – Business leaders have become increasingly more aware of the danger cyberattacks pose and are demonstrating a greater willingness to confront the risk. In fact, data breaches are viewed as an even greater business risk than climate change, inflation or another financial crisis according to Forbes. To that end, nearly all (98%) of Singapore’s respondents think they need stronger protections than those that come with their Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace applications, and two-thirds say their company needs to spend more on cybersecurity. With the increased focus on cyber preparedness by the C-suite, CISOs feel more empowered to articulate their requirements and implement strategies and tactics that will make their organisation more secure.

Collaboration tools, essential but risky: 91% of SOES participants agree that collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack are essential to their working function, but 75% believe they pose new threats and create new security loopholes. The majority believe their native collaboration tool security is insufficient to meet their needs, and 72% of respondents believe their organisation will be harmed by a collaboration-tool-based attack in the coming year. The need to put security measures in place to protect these tools must be top of mind for CISOs and will certainly be on the list of asks for the C-suite.  

Improved cyber preparedness: There is a growing realisation that cyber risk isn’t just an IT problem — it’s a critical vulnerability that directly equates to overall business risk. As such, organisations are taking the necessary measures to prepare for impending attacks. Fifty six percent are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help under-resourced teams stay ahead of the curve, with 93% saying AI systems that provide real-time, contextual warnings to email and collaboration tool users would be a huge boon.  Meanwhile 54% said they are relying less on cyber insurance and investing more in their own cyber defences.

According to Stanley Hsu, Regional Vice President of Asia, Mimecast, “With cyber threats having multiplied, organisations across Asia Pacific are becoming increasingly sensitive to the danger they pose and are demonstrating a greater willingness to confront cybercrime. However, what is needed is a deeper understanding of these malicious threats and implement the right technologies to anticipate and be better prepared for future cyberattacks. Our State of Email Security report aims to shed light on the nature of risks organisations face, and how they can improve their cybersecurity resilience.”