As the world deals with the global threat that is the Covid-19 pandemic, another more insidious threat has begun to make its presence known. 

Newly combined firm McAfee Enterprise and FireEye commissioned independent market research specialist MSI-ACI to undertake a qualitative study between September and October 2021 on cyber threats during the pandemic. The study interviewed 1,451 IT personnel and line of business decision makers across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, India, Singapore, South Africa and UAE. 

Findings from the interviews were eventually released by McAfee and FireEye in a report titled Cybercrime in a Pandemic World: The Impact of COVID-19 findings. Results revealed that during the pandemic, a whopping 89% of Singapore organisations experienced increased cyber threats, with 81% experiencing downtime due to a cyber incident during a peak season. 

With the peak holiday season approaching, Bryan Palma, CEO of the newly combined firm warns businesses to evaluate and prioritise security technology to keep themselves protected. He says, “Traditional approaches are no longer enough – 94% want their organization to improve its overall cyber readiness – and businesses need an integrated security architecture and an always on approach to prevent, protect and react to the threats of today.” 

What organisations need to know

• While IT professionals know cyber threats have intensified, the findings prove that Singapore organisations have not effectively prioritised security during COVID: 
• 66% saw an increase in online/web activity 
• 31% have had their technology and security budgets reduced 
• 62% have suffered from downtime due to a cyber concern, costing some over US$100,000
• 91% find maintaining a fully staffed security team/SOC even more challenging during peak periods 

“Key challenges impacting businesses globally create the perfect catalyst for cybercriminals to capitalise,” continued Palma. “To protect their bottom-line during holiday spikes in activity, now is the time for enterprises and commercial businesses to ensure they’re outfitted with the cybersecurity architecture needed to address the most aggressive and innovative threat.”

There are ways for organisations to be proactive and actionable against cybercrime, such as implementing security measures and industry-wide cybersecurity requirements, providing cybersecurity awareness training for employees, and developing prevention and response plans. In addition, enterprises and commercial businesses can implement cloud-delivered security with MVISION Unified Cloud Edge (UCE) and FireEye Extended Detection and Response (XDR).