Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann has formed a joint venture with local cybersecurity vendor Resolvo Systems to offer integrated services to help businesses navigate their reliance on digital data amidst growing cyber threats. This, they say, will be increasingly important as the global pandemic has accelerated online activities alongside cybersecurity attacks.
Called Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity (RTCyber), the joint venture was set up by the law firm’s ICT services arm Rajah & Tann Technologies, which focuses on technology-driven legal and regulatory services such as electronic discovery and data breach response.
Global pandemic opening up can of security worms
Caught by the sudden onslaught of COVID-19, most businesses lacked or had inadequate security systems in place to support remote work and now have to deal with a new reality that includes a much wider attack surface and less secured user devices.
“RTCyber is uniquely placed to help clients protect, mitigate against cyber attacks, minimise disruptions from a security breach, and effectively deal with a breach incident,” the law firm said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the new entity would tap its knowledge in data protection and cybersecurity law as well as Resolvo’s 20 years experience in cybersecurity.
The joint venture would provide a suite of six services, including legal tech, e-discovery, digital forensics, and contract management.
RTTech’s director Steve Tan said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our clients’ reliance on digital data. As their transformation partner, we see ourselves providing them with a much-needed service at this most dire of times.
“It is a matter of when, not if, an organisation is hit by a data breach, especially since the number of malicious perpetrators targeting vulnerable systems, websites, and individuals continues to grow exponentially,” Tan said. “The key is to be prepared and effectively respond to a breach. Organisations have to be proactive in securing their data against loss or cyber attacks, not only for security reasons, but also to comply with data protection and other legal requirements.”
Resolvo CTO Wong Onn Chee added that the “one-stop shop” joint venture would provide both technology and legal expertise in an “expeditious and efficient manner”, which would be essential in managing cybersecurity incidents.
Citing the World Health Organisation, Rajah & Tann said the global organisation reported a five-fold increase in cyber attacks 1.5 months into the global pandemic, while phishing attacks targeting Singapore more than doubled between March and May this year, according to Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency.
Worldwide, 91% of enterprises reported an increase in cyber attacks as more employees working from home amidst the coronavirus outbreak, revealed a survey by VMware Carbon Black. COVID-19 inspired malware saw the highest jump, with 92% of respondents noting an increase in such threats compared to typical volumes before the outbreak.
In Singapore, 43% saw increased attack volumes over the past year, reporting an average 1.67 breaches, and 67% said such threats now were more sophisticated. OS vulnerabilities were the most common cause of breaches, as cited by 20% in the city-state, while 15% pointed to holes in third-party application that led to security breaches.
Cybercrimes accounted for 26.8% of all crimes in Singapore last year, with e-commerce scams the most popular. Some 9,430 cybercrime cases were reported in 2019, up 51.7% from 2018 when there were 6,215 cases.
