Innovix Distribution has launched a security operations centre (SOC) in partnership with Adura Cyber Security and SK Infosec, housed at the distributor’s headquarters in Singapore.
The move is designed to address the growing needs of businesses in the region to handle cyber security threats.
“Some 20 per cent of organisations who were surveyed in Singapore said that they had a recent experience of cyber security incidents, while an amazing 33 per cent had no idea they had an incident because they had not even performed any proper forensics or data breach assessment,” said Eric van der Hoevan, chief executive of JTH Group, the parent company of Adura and Innovix.
Technology and digital transformation present great opportunities for regional partners, facilitating the development of new business models and provide new sources of revenue.
“One of the biggest challenges, however, in digital transformation is to ensure cyber security, privacy and compliance,” said Hoevan.
“Adura, SK Infosec and Innovix have joined forces to address these challenges for our customers, giving them access to world class cyber security experts and develop tailor made solutions appropriate to their setup and their needs.
“In that way, our clients can focus on reaping the benefits of digital transformation and feel comfortable that cyber security threats are being handled by experts."
The new SOC is designed to alleviate regional partners and customers of cyber security headaches, saving them time and lowering cost, while protecting data and that of their clients, serving the needs of both enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
SOC credentials
In Singapore, SMEs make up 99 per cent of companies, and contribute up to 50 per cent of total GDP.
Despite playing such an important role in the nation's economy, the nature of lean businesses often means that they do not always have the financial resources and expertise to set up a dedicated SOC to identify and respond to threats.
Adura has estimated that individually-run SOCs can cost businesses approximately $3 million to set up, and when faced with the decision IT leaders typically cannot justify the costs of doing so.
Besides the capital expenditure required, a dedicated SOC also requires ongoing operational expenses.
These include analytics, threat monitoring tools, and ensuring that cyber security experts maintain certifications, educate themselves on the latest attacks and techniques as well as staying abreast of complex regulatory changes.
With the IT security industry expecting a shortage of 1.8 million (APAC) professionals by 2022, SMEs are often at a loss in recruiting and retaining good talent.
This often is an additional challenge for SMEs to find experienced security analysts of their own, when security is often not the core focus of their business.
As such, this SOC will provide businesses with access to managed security services as part of SK Infosec’s Asia-wide network, with the newly-built SOC joining a network in South Korea, Japan, and China.
Collectively, they represent a pool of over 200 highly-trained security staff, conducting 24/7 monitoring and incident response.
The decision of the latest SOC’s location was also made strategically to serve Singapore’s needs.
“With Singapore’s open economy and a major international centre for trade, finance and logistics, it is crucial to protect against attacks that can potentially impact the wider regional and global economy,” said Barnaby Grosvenor, director of Adura Cyber Security.
“This SOC will allow SMEs to focus on the important task of building businesses with full innovation and creativity and rest assured in the fact that their intellectual property remains secured from outside threats.”
In the future, there are plans for more SOCs across ASEAN, with Hong Kong as a leading candidate, however, no decision has been made as of yet.
