New IBM Cybersecurity Hub To Help APAC Organisations Build Cyber Resiliency

IBM on Wednesday announced a multi-million-dollar investment in its resources to help businesses prepare for and manage the growing threat of cyberattacks to organisations across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The centerpiece of this investment is the new IBM Security Command Center for training cybersecurity response techniques through highly realistic, simulated cyberattack – designed to prepare everyone from C-Suite through technical staff. The investment also includes a new Security Operation Center (SOC) which is part of IBM’s vast network of existing global SOCs - providing 24X7 security response services to clients around the world.

According to the new IBM global analysis released on Wednesday, Asia is now the most targeted region for cyberattacks – representing 26 per cent of attacks analysed in 2021. The data reveals a significant regional shift compared to the past decade of the report, where North America and Europe have historically ranked as most-targeted. This trend signals a growing need for security investments amongst Asian organisations, particularly those in financial services and manufacturing, which were the most-targeted industries in the region. The new IBM cybersecurity centers will address the most pressing need of the hour for organisations of all types, to accelerate their security strategies and align business priorities with a security-first approach.

Located at IBM offices at Embassy Golf Links in Bengaluru, India, the new facilities represent a strategic hub for IBM cybersecurity activities in the region, which also include IBM Managed Security Services, access to IBM’s team of incident response experts, as well as IBM Consulting, IBM Research, IBM India Software Labs, and IBM Garage, a collaborative approach designed to fast-track innovation and drive meaningful, lasting transformation for clients.

The new facilities were inaugurated in the presence of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Chandrasekhar said, "As India becomes the largest connected democracy in the world, our PM’s vision is that cyberspace will not just become a place for innovation, growth and opportunity, it will also become a place where the future standards and future technologies for securing the cyberspace evolve, mature and proliferate. I believe the Cybersecurity Hub launched by IBM today will go a long way in creating an ecosystem of not just awareness but also capabilities and talent in creating a safe cyberspace. I congratulate team IBM and look forward to a stronger partnership between the Government of India, our agencies, and IBM going forward with a common objective of realising the Digital India mission and making sure that the Indian cyberspace becomes and remains safe and trusted."

Commenting on the launch, Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India said, "One of the biggest challenges impacting the success of the exponentially growing digital economy and that of countries across the world is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is a global challenge threatening enterprises more vigorously than ever before. We have an opportunity to respond and act now. We need cutting-edge technology and coming together of the entire ecosystem to address this threat and the launch of the IBM Cybersecurity Hub is, in fact, a response to this challenge. It will empower clients to respond to incidents with greater speed, effectiveness, and transparency."

"Preparing for a cyberattack is like fire-drill training. Everyone from executives through to contractors need to understand their own role in an emergency and reinforce the crucial response steps through practice,” said Chris Hockings, IBM Security CTO for Asia Pacific. 

“The new IBM Security Command Center is the first in Asia Pacific enabled to train the entire business in the art of response to a cyberattack event, further enhanced by the real-time experience of our security experts based in the adjoining global Security Operations Center. With Asia Pacific's enormous growth, diversity, and role in global supply chain, these capabilities can be a real game changer for helping customers face growing threats in the region."