During the CIO Global Asia Cybersecurity Forum in Singapore in 2023, attendees discussed ways to better integrate cybersecurity into their organizations’ digital transformation initiatives. As the importance of cybersecurity in modern enterprises grows, so do the demands placed on CISOs and other IT executives. They are now accountable for leading the organization as a whole into the digital era by educating other departments on the value of innovation, automation, and collaboration.
Emerging technology, skills gaps, internet threats, and insufficient data all provide ongoing problems for the development of cybersecurity. Leaders in information security, known as Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), play a pivotal role in this scenario. To ensure efficient operations, they must adopt a digital mindset, have a long-term strategic goal, and embed a culture of cybersecurity at all levels.
Forum Chairman and ATET Pte Ltd. Director Daniel Goh gave some opening remarks. After that, the keynote speaker, Tham Mei Leng, Minister Chief Information Security Officer, Government Technology Agency (GovTech), spoke on the evolution of cybersecurity over the previous decade. Her talk was engaging and current; it provided insight into potential cyber defenses and future cyber threats.
Jenny Tan, Head, Group Internal Audit; Vice President, SheLeadsTech Champion, Singapore Chapter; and Information Systems Audit and Control Association, recently delivered a talk on “Best Practices in Preparing For A Cybersecurity Audit.” She began by taking a quick, unscientific poll to see how the crowd felt about auditors and the auditing process. Despite the fact that 69% of people said they didn’t like being audited, just 20% said they didn’t like their auditor. Jenny’s discussion centered on how CIOs and CISOs can take cyber risk assessment to the next level, beyond compliance.
ChatGPT’s benefits and security flaws were recently highlighted by Associate Professor Tan Kian Hua of LIGS University and the Chief Information Security Officer of Lenovo PCCW Solutions, respectively. Yet, many people don’t realize that ChatGPT can teach pupils advanced skills like launching attacks and doing scans.
Christopher Lek, Director of Cybersecurity at Nanyang Technological University, spoke on the cybersecurity skills gap and how it exacerbates crucial difficulties that businesses face in the face of escalating cyber threats.
At the cybersecurity conference, there were two panels:
Shaofei Huang, Group Chief Information Security Officer, SMRT Corporation; Justin Ong, CISO APAC at Panasonic; Anthony Lim, Director CSCIS, Fellow at SUSS; and Romanus Prabhu, Director of Product Support and Security Evangelist at ManageEngine, were on the first panel moderated by Marcus Tan Cheng Lin, Head of the Cybersecurity I2R, A*STAR. The discussions sparked by the panel made it clear that as long as information is exchanged, all businesses are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The panel and audience members talked about the challenges and opportunities of supply chain coordination.
Jenny Tan, Head, Group Internal Audit, Capitaland; Vice President, SheLeadsTech Champion, Singapore Chapter, Information Systems Audit and Control Association; Dr. Estelle Wang Yi, Senior Manager Security & Privacy, Product Cybersecurity & Privacy Office (PCSO), Singapore; and Pei Yuen Wong, Group CISO & VP, Group Cyber Resilience, Singtel, spoke on the second panel (ISACA). The panel discussion found that just 22% of the audience members felt that the cybersecurity business suffers from a lack of diversity. Jenny Tan, who was in charge of moderating the panel, raised these issues.
Participants included Sophos’ Hywel Morgan (Manager, System Engineering, ASEAN, and Korea), NCC Group and APAC Cyber Channel co-founder and strategic account director Melissa Tiong, EtonHouse Education International Group CTO John Ang, Centre for Cybersecurity CEO Ethan Seow, Deloitte Director of Cyber Risk Manoj Wadhwa, and Abbott’s Risk and Cyber Security Officer Jagathesh Rajavasagam.
Attendees of this first event took full advantage of the many networking possibilities presented to them. The next Asia Forum will be held by CIO World in 2023.