Singapore lags ASEAN peers in cybersecurity readiness

With an overall score of 19.28 out of 25, Singapore trails regional peers in critical areas such as governance and AI integration.

Singapore’s cybersecurity maturity has fallen behind its ASEAN counterparts, according to a new benchmark study by Palo Alto Networks.

With an overall score of 19.28 out of 25, Singapore trails regional peers in critical areas such as governance, AI integration, and framework adoption.

The Cybersecurity Resilience in Mid-Market Organisations report is based on responses from over 2,800 mid-sized organisations across 12 countries. It offers an in-depth look at how companies are responding to increasing cyber threats amid accelerating digital transformation.

Despite a strong rise in cyber spending, now making up 15.2% of IT budgets in Singapore, gaps remain.

The report highlighted that AI capabilities remain underutilised, even as organisations face more sophisticated attacks. Governance emerged as Singapore’s weakest area, with a low NIST framework score of 3.65, suggesting poor threat identification and response structures.

Cloud security, identity access management, and security information and event management are top areas for future investment in Singapore.

Meanwhile, the role of external partners is growing rapidly, with 49% of organisations currently using cybersecurity partners, a number expected to jump to 85% within two years.