How media and public perceptions around cybersecurity are evolving in Southeast Asia

This post is sponsored by Isentia.

In Southeast Asia, conversations around cybersecurity have gained significant traction over the past two years, driven by rising awareness and emerging challenges.

Isentia, APAC’s leader in media intelligence (also part of the Pulsar Group) utilised media monitoring and audience intelligence expertise to make sense of more than 200,000 conversations taking place across Southeast Asia on Facebook, Reddit, TikTok, Threads, X, YouTube, online news, print, radio, TV, blogs and forums.

Interest in cybersecurity grows, but this time mainstream media leads social chatter

Most of the conversations on mainstream media and search grew gradually over the past year, driven by moments such as the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore publishing the Singapore Cyber Landscape Report 2022, which drew widespread attention to the state of cybersecurity in the nation. This report prompted discussions across media platforms, which emphasised the lack of cybersecurity knowledge in firms and a talent pool deficit.

The rise in mentions underscores increasing public concern and awareness about cyber threats.

What topics are driving the cybersecurity conversation?

When zoomed in on the conversations over the latter half of 2024, cybersecurity in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore, has captured substantial media attention, with certain sectors standing out as focal points of discussion.

A critical incident driving these conversations occurred recently when a Mobile Guardian hack compromised over 13,000 devices in Singapore. A new application had to be launched to effectively manage students' devices after the Ministry of Education stopped the use of the Mobile Guardian app.

This breach underscored the vulnerability of personal data and served as a stark reminder of the necessity for robust cybersecurity measures. The ripple effects of such incidents have fuelled discourse not only in the financial domain, but also across other sectors such as the economy, transport, and healthcare, though these received comparatively fewer mentions.

On a brighter side, Singapore has been a sandbox for innovation and growth in the cybersecurity industry in Southeast Asia, with a high demand in IT careers related to security, both by local and foreign talent. The government is focusing on strategic sectors of the local economy – giving a boost to applicants looking to make the best career decisions. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities and breaches might account for the biggest spikes, but interest in jobs and economic opportunity remains huge.

Leading figures contributing to the conversations

Some prominent individuals across various sectors have become key voices in the conversation, either by way of indulging actively in debate around cybersecurity or by being involved in scandals that have necessitated the need for it, such as Ng Yu Zhi’s implication in a ponzi scheme fraud (the businessman allegedly duped 947 investors of almost $1.5 billion through nickel trading, and channelled that money into his personal bank accounts to finance a lavish lifestyle).

Breaking down the audience of cybersecurity

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Breaking down the audience groups reveals more distinct, country-specific communities, though their conversations largely focus on news from Singapore.

Singaporean politicos closely follow political news and their conversations online centre on how consumers and companies can become victims of phishing scams, necessitating a robust cyber framework. Malaysian news readers, meanwhile, follow top publications such as the Malay Mail, which covers deepfake email scams arising from Singapore, and targeted towards government ministers.

Another community of note is the Indonesian tech nerds, a small and relatively youthful audience segment that talks about the IT job market in Singapore, and the possibilities of building a career in the city.

Pulsar Group achieves the ISO 27001 and the ISO 9001 compliances for the Isentia platform

All of which brings us to a very exciting development at Isentia.

Earlier this year Pulsar Group achieved the ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 certification for the Isentia platform indicating a commitment to information security of the highest order. On top of that, the company’s quality management system achieved the ISO 9001 certification for a third consecutive year.

Elaborating on this achievement, Joanna Arnold, CEO of Pulsar Group and Isentia APAC, shared her thoughts around how security and confidentiality of internal systems and clients’ data is a priority.

“Cybersecurity is only becoming more important to audiences across Southeast Asia, and that's why we're delighted to have passed our ISO accreditation,” she said.

This achievement is a milestone. However, Isentia and Pulsar Group are continuously committed to ensuring superior standards in maintaining security and data privacy year-on-year, making this milestone a single marker in a longer story in which its clients – and their safety – are paramount.