Singapore's data breach fines are the most brutal in Asia

It enforces fines of up to $1m for non-compliance with data protection rules.

Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong are the top markets that incur the harshest penalties for data breaches as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), whilst Japan, India and Thailand are at the bottom of the scale, Dell EMC revealed in a study.

Based on the research, Singapore appears to have the highest amount of financial penalty that can be imposed on corporations, as fines hit $1m for non-compliance with any of its data protection provisions. The study was made before the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) due to be implemented in late May.

However, a previous EY study showed that even if 70% of bosses are expressing increasing concern over data privacy compliance, only 10% of Singapore firms have plans to protect their information by preparing for the GDPR.

Meanwhile, enforcements in the other Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) markets are hugely varied, Dell EMC revealed. “Australia imposes fines of up to AUD1.7m, whilst Hong Kong has HK$1m. Japan and India levy the lowest fines at JPY1m and INR500,000, respectively, for any breaches of data privacy. As more organizations across the region become digitally-driven, this will increasingly become a higher priority,” it added.

Dell EMC noted that security, privacy, and business continuity are top priorities for APJ businesses to minimize risks from penalties. “Key challenges that APJ businesses are facing in order to ensure data regulation are cyber threats such as ransomware, business disruption and increasing competition from new business models,” it said.

Dell EMC Asia Pacific & Japan vice president of speciality sales Dmitri Chen noted that Being data-driven is inevitable for organizations that are transforming digitally, businesses are realizing the opportunity using data effectively offers to transform their products, services and strategies.

“But as they use data to take advantage of new opportunities, there is also a greater risk - the attack surface is expanding and so too are the requirements for how you manage this data. This makes building scalable secure IT environments and optimizing infrastructure an unavoidable requirement for organizations today,” he added.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia