In today's digital-first economy, organisations are rapidly embracing digital transformation to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences. However, this expansion of the digital footprint comes with a sobering reality—every new digital initiative potentially offers cybercriminals another point of entry into your organisation.
Findings from Trend Micro's latest Cyber Risk Report paint a concerning picture for Southeast Asia. The region now holds the second-highest average risk rating globally at 43.2, trailing only the Americas. One of the predominant threats contributing to this rating is unauthorised access to high-risk cloud applications, particularly as organisations accelerate their adoption of cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI). Adding to these concerns, the prevalence of old and inactive accounts as well as sensitive data being set outside the network continue to create significant vulnerabilities across the region.
As the adage goes, "With great power comes great responsibility". However, today's digital landscape demands a crucial modification—with a great digital attack surface comes the critical responsibility to protect it. This responsibility extends beyond IT departments to the highest echelons of leadership.
The price of passive defence
In addition to the increased risk ratio, recent findings from another Trend Micro study spotlight an even greater finding. While a startling 96% of global organisations express concern about their attack surface, many maintain an inconsistent stance toward cyber risks, failing to take decisive action to protect their digital assets. This passive approach is particularly alarming given that cybercriminals are continuously evolving their tactics and mechanisms to infiltrate targeted networks.
The challenge is multifaceted, starting with significant leadership gaps. Nearly half (48%) of leaders don't consider cybersecurity their responsibility, creating a dangerous accountability vacuum which results in fragmented security approaches and inconsistent policies. This leadership disconnect is compounded by resource constraints—only 36% of organisations maintain round-the-clock cybersecurity coverage, while a mere 35% employ attack surface management techniques. Such multifaceted challenges require companies to fundamentally change their cybersecurity approach.
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Shifting from reactive to proactive
To better align security objectives with business goals, a strategic realignment is crucial for striking the delicate balance between risk and resilience, ensuring that security enables rather than impedes innovation.
This is where Attack Surface Risk Management (ASRM) becomes instrumental. Rather than perpetuating the cycle of fragmented, reactive measures, ASRM offers a proactive framework that fundamentally transforms how organisations combat sophisticated cyber threats and disrupts the very inaction cybercriminals depend on. It's not merely about patching vulnerabilities; it's about maintaining a strategic advantage by making decisions that actively prevent exploitation.
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ASRM: Your strategic defence against cyber threats
At its core, ASRM provides unified visibility across your entire digital ecosystem, functioning as a single source of truth that ensures no vulnerability escapes notice. This comprehensive visibility is crucial—it systematically eliminates the blind spots that cybercriminals typically exploit, leaving no dark corners for threats to hide.
The power of ASRM lies not just in its visibility, but in its ability to deliver real-time protection through continuous monitoring and automated response capabilities. This dynamic approach enables organisations to intercept and neutralise threats before attackers can leverage them, shifting the advantage away from cybercriminals and back to defenders. Rather than constantly reacting to threats, organisations can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities before they become security incidents.
Perhaps most critically, ASRM serves as a bridge between technical teams and leadership, fostering improved communication between cybersecurity professionals and board members. This alignment is essential for creating unified decision-making processes that leave no room for exploitation. When security strategies are clearly understood and supported at all levels of the organisation, the resulting cohesion significantly strengthens overall cyber resilience.
Beyond these foundational benefits, ASRM brings intelligence and focus to security operations. Instead of security teams drowning in a sea of alerts, ASRM employs sophisticated automation and intelligent insights to identify and prioritise high-risk areas across the attack surface. This targeted approach ensures security teams can concentrate their efforts where they matter most, maximising the impact of often limited resources while maintaining comprehensive protection across the organisation's digital estate.
The cost of inaction
Every moment spent in a passive security stance is an opportunity granted to potential attackers. Cybercriminals thrive on organisational inaction, fragmented defences, and unclear accountability. The choice becomes increasingly clear—either embrace a proactive, resilient security posture or risk becoming the next cyber incident headline.
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For boards and executive leadership, the imperative is clear. Implementing an effective ASRM approach requires acknowledging cyber risk as a board-level priority, investing in robust ASRM solutions, and cultivating a culture of continuous vigilance and improvement.
In a landscape where cyber threats evolve at unprecedented speeds and attack surfaces continue to expand, the question isn't whether your organisation will be targeted, but whether you'll be prepared when it happens. Can your organisation afford to remain complacent?
David Ng is the managing director of Singapore, Philippines & Indonesia at Trend Micro
