State-Sponsored Hackers Increasingly Targeting Singapore Firms for Cyber Ransoms

Reports find local firms more likely than global peers to pay up without negotiating ransom amounts, and to stay silent after a breach

- Krist Boo

State-sponsored hackers are increasingly targeting Singapore companies — not just to steal corporate secrets or to disrupt business operations, but also for profits.

Singapore firms are not helping, by being more likely than their global peers to pay up without negotiating ransom amounts, and to stay silent after suffering a breach.

These findings emerged from three separate reports by Verizon Business, and cyber-security firms Sophos and Bitdefender, which shed light on the growing persistence of cyber threats Singapore's private sector faces amid rising geopolitical rivalries.

Mr Robert Le Busque, regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific at Verizon Business, told The Straits Times: "These threat actors, frequently linked to nations like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, are not singularly focused. While espionage is the primary driver, they are also significantly motivated by direct financial gain."

The firm, a division of American telecommunications firm Verizon Communications, said its latest intelligence and monitoring of its network shows 28 per cent of attacks by these state-sponsored actors to be financially driven.

Cyber criminals are also moving beyond phishing to strike software vulnerabilities, including finding their way to enterprises through suppliers' solutions, Mr Le Busque added. Their intrusions into networks are now linked to more than three-quarters of data thefts.

"Once inside, they often deploy ransomware, which was a factor in 51 per cent of these breaches," he said. "A typical case involved an engineer being targeted by a fake recruiter, leading to the installation of malware that allowed attackers to steal crucial design blueprints."