New Microsoft-commissioned study highlights increasing cybercrime threats to governments and current blindspots

While governments are increasingly spending more IT resources and budgets on cybersecurity, there are still blindspots and weak links in their IT management, usage and policies, which makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to an independent study released by research consultancy firm TRPC, titled “Public Data At Risk: Cyber Threats to the Networked Government”. The study reflects that while governments across Asia-Pacific are strategically looking at adopting IT solutions to streamline and enhance the efficiency of their work, management of data and delivery of public services, a networked environment is being actively targeted by cyber threats affecting safety and security of government data, national security, critical infrastructure, and international diplomacy.

Microsoft survey shows 62% of IT leaders in Asia Pacific expect to increase spending on new technologies in 2015

A Microsoft Asia Pacific survey of 291 IT decision makers of medium to large enterprises across 10 markets in Asia Pacific showed that IT leaders in the region are leading the charge to harness disruptive technologies enabling their transformation to a mobile-first and cloud-first world. More than half of CIOs (53%) polled allocated 11% to 30% of their budget towards using new technologies and another 27% of respondents allocated more than 30%.

Strengthening Trust in a Data-Centric World

Jeff Bullwinkel, Microsoft’s Associate General Counsel for Asia Pacific and Japan, outline the precautions Microsoft has undertaken to ensure that customer’s data in the cloud remains protected and secure.

Enter the responsive organizations

To reap the full benefit of social technologies, organizations must transform their structures, processes, and cultures: they will need to become more open and nonhierarchical and to create a culture of trust. Ultimately, the power of social technologies hinges on the full and enthusiastic participation of employees who are not afraid to share their thoughts – and trust that their contributions will be respected. Creating these conditions will be far more challenging than implementing the technologies themselves.