Humans of Cybersecurity: the latest innovations and hiring trends in APAC

Digital padlock representing data security and protection.

On 15 July 2020, 45 high-profile Twitter users simultaneously posted a dubious tweet about a bitcoin scheme that was too good to be true. Users like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett claimed that, for 30 minutes only, all bitcoin sent to a specific cryptocurrency wallet would be doubled as part of an elaborate charity drive. Within minutes, 320 bitcoin transactions were made, totalling up to more than US$110,000 in value. 

The tweet turned out to be part of a bitcoin scam later described as “the worst hack of a social media platform yet”. Three perpetrators were arrested soon after, with the mastermind being a 17-year-old teenager from Florida. 

This was not the only major data breach in 2020. Marriott International lost the personal data of more than 5.2 million hotel guests in March; more than 500,000 Zoom passwords were put on sale for less than one US cent each in April; in January 2019, Singapore’s Ministry of Health lost confidential information belonging to 14,200 people diagnosed with HIV — the second major health data breach in six months. While it is evident that cybersecurity is a growing challenge for businesses around the world, of greater concern is the fact that most businesses — about 95% — do not have adequate cybersecurity practices in place, making them especially vulnerable to attacks. 

Investing in the right tools is definitely a start, but one of the best ways to plug these security gaps is to hire the right cybersecurity talent on the market — but what are the most relevant skill sets out there? With cybersecurity trends and threats evolving constantly, what kind of talent should businesses hire? 

This is where our report, Humans of cybersecurity: Innovations and hiring trends in APAC, comes in. As part of the ABCs of Technology series, the report explores the latest tech and hiring trends in cybersecurity, complete with insights and recommendations from cybersecurity leaders, hiring managers, as well as Michael Page consultants from across the Asia Pacific.

Report highlights: