by Somsak Mukdavannakorn, Public Sector Director, Microsoft Thailand
In today’s digital age, threats to individuals and organizations are no longer confined to the physical realm and space. Targeted cyberattacks such as the recent threat aimed at Thailand’s commercial banks and hacking incidences aimed at government agencies underline our vulnerability in the cyberspace.
A white paper published by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that infected pirated software and lost data would cost organizations in Asia Pacific around US$229 billion in 2014[1]. From an economic impact perspective, what would cost organizations in Asia Pacific due to infected pirated software and lost data is more than half of Thailand’s GDP for the same year[2].
The question begets how technology can enable and empower every individual and organization in this mobile-first, cloud-first world if the very use of it exposes us to a certain degree of harm and danger? The answer lies in ‘trust’. People do not use technology that they do not trust.
On an organizational level, trust remains one of the top-three barriers to cloud technology adoption for CIOs in Asia Pacific[3]. The survey also highlights that 79% of the respondents continue to be concerned with the security, privacy, compliance and transparency of cloud-related solutions.
From cost-effective IT budget and resources to empowering employees to be more productive and collaborative, embracing the cloud can bring many advantages to enterprises of all sectors and sizes that seek innovative ways to set themselves apart from the competition. Choosing the right cloud provider that you trust marks the first and most crucial step towards new revenue models, quicker product development cycles, the agility to respond to market and customer demands, and a significantly reduced cost of operations.
At the recent Microsoft Thailand Cyber Trust Experience which was held in conjunction with the Cyber Defense Initiative Conference 2015 in Bangkok, a panel of regional and local cybersecurity experts discussed at length the dangers organizations and individuals are exposed to in cyberspace, and the technology solutions to anticipate, neutralize and limit the impact of these dangers.
As one of the world’s largest technology service providers, Microsoft takes a proactive stance in its global fight against cybercrime. Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), a team of international legal and technical experts, applies cutting-edge tools, technologies, and strategies to disrupt some of the most notorious cybercrime threats facing organizations and society today, particularly the financial services industry. Similarly cybersecurity solution architects at Microsoft Services design solutions to help enterprises monitor for attacks, vulnerabilities and persistent threats, and to provide a comprehensive cyber resiliency platform for enterprises to combat cyberattacks and cybercrime threats.
Microsoft also firmly believes that a cloud service provider should offer its customers the utmost transparency and control with regards to their data. Microsoft is the first major cloud provider to adopt the world’s first international standard for cloud privacy. The standard, also known as ISO/IEC 27018, establishes guidance that personal information should not be used by the service provider for the purposes of marketing and advertising without express consent, and that any subcontractors used by the service provider to process personal information be disclosed to the customers in advance.
As Thailand accelerates towards a Digital Economy, the lack of trust in technology should not bar individuals and organizations in Thailand from unlocking all that technology promises for society and economy. Building greater trust in technology not only contributes towards a stronger cybersecurity environment, but opens the door to greater innovation in Thailand.
[1] The Link between Pirated Software and Cybersecurity Breaches