SINGAPORE, May 23, 2024 – Proofpoint, Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company today released its annual Voice of the CISO report, which explores key challenges, expectations and priorities of chief information security officers (CISOs) worldwide.

• Human error still tops cyber vulnerability threats but CISOs turn to AI solutions to help. This year, we are seeing an uptick in the number of CISOs in Singapore who view human error as their organization’s biggest cyber vulnerability—67% in this year’s survey vs. 60% in 2023. However, 92% of CISOs believe that employees understand their role in protecting the organization. This confidence is higher than in previous years—61% in 2023 and 60% in 2022. This may be attributed to the 86% of CISOs surveyed looking to deploy AI-powered capabilities to help protect against human error and advanced human-centered cyber threats.
• CISOs continue to fear cyber attacks but fewer feel unprepared, showing growing confidence in their security measures. In 2024, 67% of CISOs surveyed in Singapore feel at risk of experiencing a material cyber attack in the next 12 months, compared to 80% in 2023 and 64% in 2022. However, just 36% feel their organization is unprepared to cope with a targeted cyber attack, compared to 55% in 2023 and 39% in 2022.
• Employee turnover is still a concern, yet CISOs trust their defenses. In 2024, 32% of security leaders in Singapore reported having to deal with a material loss of sensitive data in the past 12 months, and of those, 63% agreed that employees leaving the organization contributed to the loss. Despite those losses, 94% of CISOs believe they have adequate controls to protect their data.
• The majority of CISOs have adopted DLP technology and invested more in security education. 61% of Singapore CISOs surveyed in 2024 have data loss prevention technology (DLP) in place compared to just 35% in 2023. More than three-quarters (79%) of CISOs surveyed invested in educating employees on data security best practices which is higher in 2024 compared to 2023 (42%).
• Ransomware and malware top CISOs concerns. The biggest cybersecurity threats perceived by CISOs in Singapore this year are ransomware attacks (45%), malware (45%) and email fraud (34%). These top threats are different from last year in which CISOs perceived cloud account compromise (Microsoft 365, G Suite or other), insider threat (negligent, accidental or criminal), and malware as the biggest threats.
• Resistance to ransom payments with increased reliance on cyber insurance. In 2024, 47% (72% in 2023) of CISOs in Singapore believe their organization would pay to restore systems and prevent data release if attacked by ransomware in the next 12 months. Additionally, 78% of the CISOs said they would rely on cyber insurance claims to recover potential losses incurred, compared to 60% in 2023.
• Generative AI tops CISOs security concerns. In 2024, 52% of CISOs surveyed in Singapore believe that generative AI poses a security risk to their organization. The top three systems CISOs view as introducing risk to their organizations are: ChatGPT/other genAI (54%), Slack/Teams/Zoom/other collaboration tools (43%) and Microsoft 365 (36%).
• The Board-CISO relationship has improved significantly. In 2024, 81% of CISOs in Singapore agree their board members see eye-to-eye with them on cybersecurity issues. This is a significant jump from 60% in 2023, and 44% in 2022.
• CISOs’ pressures are unrelenting. In 2024, 49% of CISOs in Singapore admitted to burnout compared to 70% last year, while 74% feel they face excessive expectations, a steady increase from 67% last year and 35% the year before. The sustainability of the ongoing expectations of CISOs continues to be tested—69% are concerned about personal liability (56% in 2023) and 71% (59% in 2023) would not join an organization that does not offer Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance coverage. In addition, 51% of CISOs agreed that the current economic downturn has hampered their ability to make business-critical investments, with 40% of them being asked to cut staff or delay backfills as well as reduce security budgets.

“As we navigate through the complexities of today’s cyber threat environment, it’s encouraging to see CISOs gaining confidence in their strategies and tools,” commented Ryan Kalember, chief strategy officer at Proofpoint. “However, the ongoing challenges of employee turnover, pressure on resources, and the need for continuous board engagement remind us that vigilance and adaptation are key to our collective cyber resilience.”

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About Proofpoint, Inc. 

Proofpoint, Inc. is a leading cybersecurity and compliance company that protects organizations’ greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber attacks. Leading organizations of all sizes, including 85 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions that mitigate their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. More information is available at www.proofpoint.com. 

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