Symantec Unveils IT Security and Storage Outlook for 2012

Businesses in Malaysia advised to step up measures to weather challenges in the new year

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – December 14, 2011 – Symantec Corp. today released its IT Security and Storage outlook for 2012, forecasting key themes throughout the coming year which includes rising risks of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), increase in data loss through smart mobile devices, cloud computing driving changes in organisations, and the critical need to strengthen disaster recovery planning as natural disasters increase.

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help organisations protect their business critical information.The past 12 months in 2011 have seen the emergence of the successor to the infamous Stuxnet, a computer worm that targets industrial control systems that are used to monitor and control large scale industrial facilities. 2011 has also been the year of the surge in mobile threats, the rise in compromised legitimate digital certificates, and the growing demand for Cloud services.

“We are living and working in a borderless world and global trends in 2012 will certainly impact local businesses in Malaysia,” said Eric Hoh, Symantec’s Vice President for Asia South Region. “Looking back at the major cyber security trends in 2011 helps us gain perspective and make improvements moving forward. The key themes from 2011 are expected to continue to grow in 2012.”

“Organisations in Malaysia have made good progress in the year 2011 in protecting their business critical information and managing the increasing storage growth. Continuing in such progress and intensifying security initiatives in strategic areas of business will help organisations to be prepared for the increasing risks in the coming year.”

Rising risks of Advanced Persistent Threats
According to Hoh, one of the key cybersecurity trends that organisations should note in moving into 2012 is the continual increase of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). “The most significant new element in the cybersecurity threat landscape is the emergence of Advanced Persistent Threats, a type of targeted attack which uses a wide variety of techniques. 2011 saw the foundation for the next of such attack being laid into the coming years.”

He explained that APTs target industrial control-related organisations and could attack organisations or partner organisations that do business with their primary targets.

Increase in data loss through smart mobile devices
In addition, commenting on another significant trend that businesses in Malaysia need to pay attention to, Hoh said that the high increase of smart mobile devices will also increase the risks surrounding them, particularly mobile malware and data loss.

“As we have seen in Malaysia, businesses are seeing an increase in employee productivity that mobile devices and tablets bring to the business culture. The key concern of businesses is employees are accessing sensitive corporate data with these devices without being detected. Employee with malicious intent could easily steal highly confidential intellectual property.”
With Malaysia’s mobile penetration rate at more than 120 per cent, organisations will need to put in place a comprehensive plan to ensure mobile devices containing important corporate information are protected, he advised.

According to market research firm, Gartner, sales of smartphones globally will exceed 461 million by the end of the year, surpassing PC shipments in the process. In fact, combined sales of smartphones and tablets will be 44 percent greater than the PC market by the end of this year.

Cloud computing driving changes in organisations
Cloud computing is a key trend in 2012 which is expected to drive changes in organisations. According to 2011 State of Cloud Survey, organisations in Malaysia are excited about cloud, with 70 to 82 percent at least discussing all forms of cloud. Of the cloud technologies evaluated in the survey, server and storage virtualisation are the most mature with 38 and 29 percent of enterprises respectively implementing them. Private or hybrid cloud computing is the least mature with 16 percent adopting.

Hoh said that the promises of reduced cost, improved performance and greater scalability are driving interests in cloud computing. While promising significant benefits, moving to the cloud requires organisations to take a new approach to IT.

“As organisations in Malaysia look into cloud technologies, they will need to consider how they use IT and existing resources – servers, storage and people. Cloud computing is more about the people and processes. Organisations must change how they purchase IT, how they consume IT, and how they organised IT to provide cloud services,” said Hoh.

Strengthening disaster recovery planning as natural disasters increase
In addition, disaster recovery plan in organisations is expected to be tested even more by natural disasters in 2012. “We expect to continue seeing the unpredictable environmental changes test organisations’ disaster recovery plans in 2012. Organisations will need to be disaster proof and start looking at business services more holistically and automate recovery process to recover faster and reduce their reliance on personnel. The question is have they learned their lesson from this year or have to experience it for themselves in 2012.”