60% of local firms use outdated tech | The Malaysian Reserve

I somehow feel this is the case throughout much of SE Asia.

60% of local firms use outdated techThe latest study by Cisco titled Security Outcomes Study Vol 2 revealed that the key findings for Malaysia are around 1.5 times higher compared to the global average of 39%.
Respondents from Malaysia also consider their cybersecurity infrastructure unreliable and complex, with 60% and 57% respectively highlighting this.
“Security architecture must be able to connect users seamlessly from the Internet infrastructure to the applications and data they need to access, in any environment and from any location,” Cisco Malaysia MD Hana Raja said.
The poll, which included 5,100 security practitioners from 27 countries and a wide range of industries, was designed to assist practitioners in navigating their focus efforts by mapping specific actions to their likelihood of encouraging higher security.
She also emphasised the four pillars for strong security posture namely technology, architecture, processes and people.
According to Hana, more than eight out of 10 respondents in Malaysia said their company is investing in a “Zero Trust (ZT)” strategy to secure their access.
“Out of the total who invests, 53% said their organisations are making steady progress with ZT adoption while 27% mentioned they are at the mature stage of the implementation,” she said.
The survey also highlighted that 4% of respondents said their company is investing in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, a cloud-based model that integrates networking and security functions to deliver seamless, secure access to applications, anywhere users work.
“The SASE architecture is widely seen as a viable solution to address these challenges. Simply put, SASE integrates cloud networking and security functions, and provide a secure access to applications regardless of where the users choose to work,” she said.
Meanwhile, on the overall global finding, Cisco director of cyber-security Asean Koo Juan Huat said many companies are struggling to hire experienced workers, hence automation is pivotal as it enables in tripling the performance of less experienced staff, supporting organisations through skills and labour shortages.
“Organisations with integrated technologies are seven times more likely to achieve high levels of process automation. Additionally, these organisations boast more than 40% stronger threat detection capabilities,” Koo said.
He added that organisations that leverage threat intelligence achieve faster mean time to repair, with rates 50% lower than those of non-intel users.
“In today’s digital-led business environment, hackers are always looking to attack the outdated and fragile IT environment. Not just businesses, but everyone is vulnerable to the cyber threat and with the right practice, it can improve our susceptibility.”
“When it comes to cybersecurity, companies need to ensure they stay ahead of the curve,” he said.
The study also highlighted the companies that engage in chaos engineering are two times as likely to see improved business continuity.
“Through the services we provide, we will continue to support organisations for an improved security adoption, simplifying cybersecurity challenges and making it less stressful for users, in collaboration with our technology and ecosystem partners,” Koo said.