Why Firms in APAC are Planning to Outsource Cybersecurity?

Report Reveals That Over 50% of APAC Companies Intend to Outsource Cybersecurity

According to a new survey commissioned by Kaspersky, CEOs are beefing up their cybersecurity in response to an alarming spike in intrusions. According to the research, more than three-quarters (77%) of organisations in Asia Pacific (APAC) had at least one cyber incident in the previous two years.

One of the most common causes given (24%), was a lack of skilled IT security personnel. Among other cybersecurity measures, 57% of regional respondents said their organisations expect to engage in cybersecurity outsourcing in the next 12 to 18 months.

Kaspersky surveyed to acquire the perspectives of IT Security experts working for SMEs and enterprises across the world on the influence individuals have on organisational cybersecurity. The poll gathered data on several categories of persons who impact cybersecurity, including both internal and external players. It also looked at the degrees and types of cyber security that executives thought were worth investing in. A total of 234 APAC respondents were polled.

According to the research, more than three-quarters (77%) of respondents said that their organisation has encountered cybersecurity issues in the previous two years, with 87% of them classified as "serious." Some stated that the primary causes of cyber mishaps in their firm were a lack of sufficient threat detection tools (20%) and a scarcity of internal IT security professionals (24%).

"For years, businesses in APAC have faced a scarcity of local cybersecurity expertise. In fact, it is estimated that the area would require 2.1 million extra security personnel by 2022 to fulfil demand. Clearly, the findings of our latest study placed a monetary value on how this gap might harm company security. "For our part, we've been proactively fostering mutual partnerships with universities, governments, and non-governmental organisations here with the shared goal of building a country's cybersecurity capability as well as helping develop APAC's local cybersecurity talent pool," says Adrian Hia, Kaspersky's Managing Director for Asia Pacific.

Respondents from the region said that a range of solutions would be acceptable to solve cybersecurity deficiencies, with 32% saying that additional external professionals should be brought in.

It also indicates that the company's investment plans are on track with its forecasts. One-quarter of organisations (34%) want to invest in third-party professional services, and 34% intend to outsource their cybersecurity to MSP/MSSP (Managed Service Providers/Managed Security Service Providers). Critical infrastructure, energy, and oil and gas firms are the most likely to invest in third-party services shortly.

At the same time, several firms in the area want to invest in cybersecurity process automation. More than half of the organisations here (51%) have clear plans to adopt software that automatically manages their cybersecurity in the next 12 months, while 15% are debating the matter.

To deal with a lack of tools or IT Security personnel in-house, Kaspersky advises:

Make benefit of the knowledge provided by managed security services. For example, Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response improves an organization's overall security by monitoring telemetry from the company's IT network 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and assists with the development of in-house processes and best practices while adhering to incident response guidelines provided by Kaspersky experts. Furthermore, the AI assistant in MDR processes around half of all security alarms automatically to offer optimal protection.

Implementing Kaspersky Professional Services helps a struggling IT department optimise its workload. Kaspersky professionals examine the health of your present IT security before rapidly and correctly deploying and configuring Kaspersky software to ensure trouble-free continued functioning. Furthermore, Kaspersky Premium Support accelerates and improves the performance of any Kaspersky-based IT security architecture.

For SMBs who do not have the means to acquire cybersecurity solutions and engage dedicated IT security specialists, one IT administrator (even if part-time or outsourced) is sufficient to operate Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud via a console with several automated scripts.

Invest in cybersecurity training to keep your present IT security professionals' skills up to date and ready to face anything the cyber threat landscape throws at your organisation. Kaspersky Cybersecurity for IT Online course assists ordinary IT administrators in developing simple yet effective IT security best practices and incident response scenarios. Kaspersky Expert Training provides your security staff with the most up-to-date information and skills for managing and mitigating risks, safeguarding your company against even the most complex assaults.