AsPac govts spending heavily on digital security

April 5, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — As state agencies fall victim to cyber attacks, the public sector in Asia Pacific, including in the Philippines, is investing at least $7 billion this year for the upgrade of digital defenses.

In a forecast, International Data Corp. (IDC) said cybersecurity spending in Asia Pacific should amount to $36 billion in 2024, an increase of 12 percent from last year.

The growth estimate for 2024 reflects the five-year projection that cybersecurity investments in the region will grow by an average of 13 percent annually between 2022 and 2027.

Ultimately, the IDC anticipates spending on security hardware, services and software to balloon to $52 billion by 2027. The IDC believes that cybersecurity investments will be prioritized these days to minimize the risks of digital attacks.

By sector, finance will account for 23 percent of the cybersecurity spending in 2024, topping all industries in the region. The IDC said banks are upgrading their online walls to sustain customer trust in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Governments, for their part, will take up 20 percent of the total, as they look for ways to protect the data they were entrusted to manage.

Recently, hackers have attacked the websites of the Department of Science and Technology, and are threatening to delete 25 terabytes of data stolen from the agency.

In 2023, the government also suffered a large-scale breach when the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was breached by the Medusa ransomware, with the hackers demanding a sum of $300,000 to return the files.

Behind banks and governments, the IDC expects telcos to comprise the third largest share in the cybersecurity spend for the year. Telcos will comprise 12 percent of the $36 billion to raise their security capabilities in fending off potential threats on online transactions.

China will make the largest cybersecurity investment, accounting for more than 40 percent of the regional total. The IDC said Australia and India are next, contributing a combined 25 percent.

IDC IT spending guides market analyst for Asia and the Pacific Sharad Kotagi said cybersecurity spend will keep on going up, as sectors try to keep up with the changing methods of criminals.

Kotagi warned the region to be ready for the rise of cyberthreats arising from the use of artificial intelligence like deep fakes and identity theft.