Singapore's manufacturing sector most prone to cyber attacks

The manufacturing industry has replaced financial services and insurance as the most susceptible sector to cyber attacks in Singapore, according to the latest Cyber Threat Landscape (CTL) Report 2024 by Ensign InfoSecurity. Nearly 20% of the cyber attacks observed in the country targeted manufacturing units in 2023 – a significant shift in the nature of the cyber threat landscape as compared to prior years.

The report also highlighted Manufacturing, Professional Services, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Financial Services and Insurance, and Real Estate as the top five sectors affected by cyber attacks in Singapore. Incidentally, threat actors across the Asia-Pacific region shared a common focus - the disruption of economic stability. There has been an increasing trend of attackers weaponizing defence playbooks, by avoiding high-severity vulnerabilities and going after easy targets. Furthermore, off-the-shelf tech solutions are increasingly exposing enterprises and individuals to cyber threats.

Ensign InfoSecurity's CTL report draws on the company's proprietary and cyber threat intelligence sources and reveals critical vulnerabilities and emerging trends that organizations need to address for the protection of their digital assets. It suggests that there is a resounding need for enhanced cybersecurity measures, considering the weightage these sectors have in Singapore's economy.

Notably, Manufacturing contributes to over 20% of Singapore's GDP, and the sector was targeted due to three possible factors: the abundance of valuable data such as contracts, supplier details, trade secrets, and industrial designs it holds; the harmful impact a disruption can have on continuously running machinery; and the lower level of cyber hygiene as compared to other tightly regulated sectors.

Ransom emerges as the primary outcome of most cybersecurity incidents noted in 2023. Over half, precisely 52.9% of cyber attacks in Singapore involved the attacker attempting to extort money from the victim post-incident, reflecting a worsening global threat of ransomware for corporates. The attackers have now developed new tactics of double extorting their victims, the report adds.

The threat landscape is deteriorating, and ransomware is now the leading concern at the company's management level and for national leadership, too, according to Gaurav Keerthi, Head of Advisory & Emerging Business, Ensign InfoSecurity. "Singapore is a very attractive target for these attackers, given our dense network of digital infrastructure and our highly digitalised companies and citizens. Understanding our threats...is critical to determining how we can defend ourselves," he states.

Interestingly, the report also tapped into the trend of increased awareness of potential cyber threats across the six territories in 2023. There was a sharp fall in the average dwell time – the number of days the attacker stays inside their victim's networks before discovery – which fell notably from 1095 days to 49 days, suggesting that defenders are getting better at detecting even those attacks that try to hide.

Furthermore, hacktivism – cyber attacks conducted by individuals or groups supporting a cause – has become a serious concern, while supply chain attacks, especially on network devices, are increasing. The report also points out threats and risks posed by Artificial Intelligence in the cyber and information domains, concluding with suggestions on how organizations can prepare themselves against these cyber threats.