IBM has announced a multi-million-dollar investment in its resources to help businesses prepare for and manage the growing threat of cyberattacks to organizations across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
The centerpiece of this investment is the new IBM Security Command Center for training cybersecurity response techniques through simulated cyberattacks—designed to prepare everyone from C-Suite through technical staff. The investment also includes a new Security Operation Center (SOC) which is part of IBM's network of existing global SOCs—providing 24x7 security response services to clients around the world.
According to new IBM global analysis, Asia is now the #1 most targeted region for cyberattacks—representing 26% of attacks analyzed in 2021. The data reveals a significant regional shift compared to the past decade of the report, where North America and Europe have historically ranked as most-targeted. This trend indicates a growing need for security investments among Asian organizations, particularly those in financial services and manufacturing, which were the most-targeted industries in the region.
"Preparing for a cyberattack is like fire-drill training. Everyone from executives through to contractors need to understand their own role in an emergency and reinforce the crucial response steps through practice," said Chris Hockings, IBM Security CTO for Asia Pacific. "The new IBM Security Command Center is the first in Asia Pacific enabled to train the entire business in the art of response to a cyberattack event, further enhanced by the real-time experience of our security experts based in the adjoining global Security Operations Center. With Asia Pacific's enormous growth, diversity, and role in global supply chain, these capabilities can be a real game changer for helping customers face growing threats in the region.
The training simulations offered in the new IBM Security Command Center in Bengaluru leverage audio and visual effects as well as live malware, ransomware, and other real-world hacker tools. IBM said it designed the simulations after emergency and disaster response training models, in consultation with dozens of experts from different industries including emergency medical responders, active-duty military officers. and its incident response experts. The IBM Security Command Center in Bengaluru can deliver customized experiences and workshops—including virtually—that are tailored to organizations' unique security requirements and objectives, leveraging the IBM Cyber Range Design consulting team.
Adjacent to the new facility, IBM's new Security Operations Center (SOC) will provide Managed Security Services (MSS) to clients across the globe.
IBM's global SOC network now includes 9 locations such as Atlanta (U.S.,) Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and more. It offers MSS investigation experts to assist with on-the-ground response, dedicated security experts with strong vertical expertise, personalized advisory services combined with a holistic approach to secure hybrid cloud environments. IBM's SOC model leverages AI, machine learning and automation, bringing together human expertise and advanced technologies to help respond with speed, efficiency, and transparency.
For more information, go to www.ibm.com.