ST Engineering’s Electronics sector today announced that it has partnered with Cisco Security and IBM to develop integrated cybersecurity solutions that safeguard information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) security networks of Industrial Control Systems, to enhance the safe operations of critical infrastructures that deliver essential services such as energy, aviation, maritime and land transport. The three-party collaboration will combine proven engineering capabilities, technical expertise in the network security space, and advanced analytics capabilities of the three technology powerhouses to develop an integrated and secure reference solution architecture.
The architecture, a solution guide to help companies design their cybersecurity infrastructure, will help companies and owners of critical information infrastructures counter cybersecurity challenges by integrating capabilities to secure both IT and OT networks. It will also provide a consolidated overview and analysis of cyber events to enable security teams to address cyber incidents more collaboratively.
The collaboration will see the integration of Cisco Security’s solutions, IBM’s QRadar platform as well as ST Engineering’s technology and engineering expertise, to deliver best-of-breed solutions. The three partners will also explore building a Centre of Excellence to demonstrate and promote the integrated cybersecurity offerings developed through the collaboration, including cybersecurity training and industry certification.
“We are very honoured to partner with Cisco Security and IBM. This demonstrates the confidence leading industry players have in ST Engineering as a proven technology partner capable of delivering integrated and efficient solutions that meet customers’ needs. In this fast-evolving threat landscape, cybersecurity needs to be an intricate part of any system or network design. We are confident that this unique and dynamic collaboration will develop robust solutions to help
companies secure their networks,” said Mr Goh Eng Choon, general manager of Info-Security, Electronics, ST Engineering.
According to a recent report by Cisco, companies across Asia Pacific do not address half of the legitimate cyber threat alerts they receive. Titled Cisco 2018 Asia Pacific Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, the study highlights that among those surveyed, 53% of companies receive more than 10,000 alerts each day. With the number of cyber threats increasing rapidly, the real challenge lies in what comes after the alert is received, and how many are actually investigated. The study shows that on average only half of the alerts received are investigated.
Cyber-attacks are having far-reaching ramifications that include financial and reputational losses to companies. In Southeast Asia, 51% of all cyber-attacks resulted in a loss of more than $1 million. Nearly 10% of respondents said that cyber-attacks cost them more than $5 million. 33% of respondents in the study said a security breach can cost them anywhere between $1-5 million.
"Digital innovation and adoption is taking place at a rapid pace across Southeast Asia. However, the success of digitisation hinges in a large part on the region’s ability to tackle the cybersecurity challenge and develop local capability, especially the talent pool. We need to remember that cyber criminals are constantly working together and are relentless in their pursuits of hacking networks and inflicting damage on their targets. Defenders need to take a similar approach by collaborating more, sharing intelligence and ensuring they stay a step ahead of the attackers. Cisco is excited to be working with ST Engineering and IBM to offer new security solutions that will leverage our integrated architectural approach to cybersecurity,” said Stephen Dane, managing director of Security for Asia Pacific, Japan and China at Cisco.
“Security is a top priority for every company. At IBM, we believe that open co-operation between different vendors in the security space is essential to design integrated ready-to use solutions combining intelligence with the latest technologies. This is why we are expanding our existing relationship with ST Engineering, built on IBM QRadar and Watson for Cognitive Cyber Security solutions, to also include Cisco, one of our key global partners. Together we will focus on developing industry tailored solutions that put data security and privacy first,” said Jean-Claude Broido, vice president of IBM Security, Asia Pacific.
