Chubb has revealed in their recent Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) survey that there's a significant perception gap in cyber risk and preparedness in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The survey was done across 1,000 SMEs across the 3 countries in the Asia Pacific.
The findings showed that more than half of SMEs in these countries have experienced a cyber incident in the past year. And on average, 6 in 10 SMEs are not aware of all the cyber threats they face and that majority of cyber incidents are caused by internal factors.
Between 52-63% of respondents believe they are in a better position than their larger competitors to manager a cyber incident (Australia 60%, Hong Kong 52%, and Singapore 63%). Yet, the majority of SMEs have experienced a cyber incident in the last 12 months (Australia 60%, Hong Kong 71%, and Singapore 56%). Internal factors such as system breakdowns and human error were the main causes of cyber incidents.
“Too small to fail”?
While many SMEs feel better prepared to manage cyber incidents compared to larger companies, they do face the same risks as larger companies and do not have the same means to implement comprehensive protection, leaving the potential risk uncovered.
“Many SMEs believe they are too small to be targeted by cybercriminals or that any internal issues will not greatly impact them. In effect, they think they are “too small to fail”.” Said Cyber Underwriting Manager of Chubb Asia Pacific, Andrew Taylor.
Top 3 cyber incident in the past 12 months:
1. Business interruption fro system malfunction or technical fault
2. Data loss through a system malfunction or technical fault
3. Business interruption or data loss through human error, such as a lost or stolen memory device or employees unintentionally exposing their company data to risk.
Are SMEs overconfident?
The survey revealed that most SMEs are confident in their ability to overcome a breach following an attack, with Australia being the most confident at 87%, followed by Hong Kong at 77% and Singapore at 72%.
Majority of the SMEs believe they can contain a breach within 12 hours, however, this confidence contradicts other findings, including on average:
- 62% believe they are not aware of all the cyber threats they face
- 28% who experienced cyber incidents did not know which data files were affected
Andrew Taylor added, “Perhaps the reason for these seemingly conflicting results lies in the fact there is disagreement on where the responsibility for cyber risk should rest.” He revealed that respondents in Singapore and Australia were fairly equally divided with about the same number believing the head of IT or the CEO should be held responsible. Whereas nearly double the number of respondents in Hong Kong believed the responsibility fell on the Head of IT instead of the CEO.
He further added that, “Chubb’s view is that cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, but should be led by someone who has the authority to effect change, and this needs boardroom or business owner oversight.”
Lack of understanding in cyber insurance
Through the survey, around 57% of SMEs in the 3 countries appear to have a lack of understanding of cyber insurance. The SMEs do not fully understand the insurance solutions available and 6 out of 10 have never purchased cyber insurance.
Senior Vice President, Cyber and Technology, Chubb Overseas General, Tim Stapleton mentioned that “there is a need for more education about the value of cyber insurance. AT Chubb, our value proposition is more than just the traditional ‘promise to pay’- we offer enterprise-wide support solutions for the benefit of our Insured. That’s why we place emphasis on our preventive advice as well as our response support.”
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