News

04 Sep 2018

Australian firms wanting to tap into the fast-growing ASEAN cyber security market are invited to join an Austrade and AustCyber mission to the region in late October. The mission will be led by Dr Tobias Feakin, Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, and Michelle Price, CEO of AustCyber. 

The ASEAN Cyber Security mission will include stops in Indonesia and Singapore, where cyber security has significant government support and a wide range of opportunities across sectors.

This mission will incorporate a visit to the Singapore Cloud and Cyber Security Expo and the Indonesia Cyber Security Summit in Bali. It will also feature a workshop with BSSN (the National Cyber and Encryption Agency in Indonesia), and an exclusive program of networking events, pitch opportunities, briefings and introductions to customers and partners in the ASEAN region.

Increasing digitisation across ASEAN is driving the demand for cyber security solutions and services. At the ASEAN Summit in March 2018, ASEAN and Australia committed to an ASEAN-Australia Cyber Cooperation initiative to improve joint efforts to harness the opportunities of cyberspace, promote peace and stability in cyberspace, and guard against growing threats online.

‘With rising risk to governments, industry and consumers as businesses digitise their operations, ASEAN’s cyber security expenditure is now growing rapidly,’ says Prerana Mehta, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner (Acting), Austrade Singapore. ‘In 2017, this expenditure was estimated at A$2.55 billion and it is forecast to grow to A$7.33 billion by 2025.’

Singapore is highly advanced when it comes to cyber security. In June 2017, Australia and Singapore signed an MOU to enhance cyber security cooperation, including regularly exchanging information on cyber security incidents and threats, sharing best practices to promote innovation in cyber security, and undertaking training in cyber security skillsets. Both parties are also conducting joint exercises focused on protecting Critical Information Infrastructure and collaborating on regional cyber capacity building and confidence building measures.

The Singapore cyber security market is mature and competitive, forecast to be worth A$913 million by 2020. Cyber security opportunities are particularly strong in the financial services, infrastructure, multinational telecommunications and healthcare sectors.

Indonesia, by contrast, is ASEAN’s largest economy and user base, and an emerging opportunity for cyber security. With over 100 million internet users and a rapidly transforming business sector, it is both one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to cyber-attacks and a market with strong cyber security opportunities in e-commerce, telecommunications and enterprise.

Although Indonesia has been regularly assessed as one of the least cyber-ready countries in the region, many in the country are embracing digital solutions. Both government and business are rapidly transitioning from paper-based to digital management of information, the e-commerce market is in many ways more advanced than Australia’s, and consumers use a diverse range of digital and mobile-based services in their daily lives.

In response, both regulators and business are treating cyber security seriously. In January 2018, the Government of Indonesia set up BSSN, a central body for coordinating the Government’s approach to cyber security. In August 2018, the head of BSSN signed a cyber security cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Australia during Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s first visit to Jakarta. The MOU focuses on strengthening connections between Australia and Indonesia in cyber security, sharing best practices, increasing cooperation to build the capacity of Indonesian institutions and addressing cybercrime.

‘Singapore and Indonesia show two different sides of the cyber security market in South East Asia, and this is a great way to meet key players and raise your profile in both of these important markets for Australian business,’ says Sally Ann Watts, General Manager ASEAN & Pacific (Acting) and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Austrade Jakarta.

Register for the ASEAN Cyber Security mission by 10 September or contact Austrade for more details on cyber security opportunities in ASEAN.