How Asia’s businesses can mitigate employee cybersecurity & data security risks

As emerging technologies change the way we work, they also bring new risks and create knowledge gaps around cybersecurity and data security risks.

Technology is disrupting the way we work by creating new jobs, delivery channels, products, and ways of working. Most importantly, it also challenges organisations' governance and their employees’ ability to manage misinformation and other cybersecurity threats.

According to the Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) People Risk 2024 survey of risk managers in Asia, three of their top 10 risk concerns relate to technological change and disruption:

Tech skills shortages (#4): A shortage of skilled workers in tech fields hampers technology development, implementation, and management, which lowers competitiveness.
Mishandling of data/IP (#9): Failure to properly handle, store, and protect sensitive data leads to data breaches, reputational damage, and loss of trust.
Lack of cybersecurity knowledge (#10): Limited cybersecurity knowledge across organisations increases the risk of cyberattacks (e.g. ransomware), business interruption and financial loss.

Amidst this backdrop, risk managers need to work closely with their human resource (HR) counterparts to adopt measures to improve their organisation's cyber resilience, starting with employees’ preparedness against cybersecurity and data security risks.

Did you know?

7 in 10 organisations in Asia do not have effective measures in place to manage technological change and mitigate potential disruptions in place.

How to effectively mitigate employee cybersecurity and data security risk

MMB’s People Risk Asia Report prescribes three proven ways to guide risk managers on enhancing employee cybersecurity and data security resilience within organizations:

Adopting an enterprise-wide approach to technology by empowering employees with the knowledge to become guardians of organisational assets.
Cultivating a digital-first culture and ensure the adoption of digital solutions aids in productivity by actively collecting feedback from employees.
Improving talent attraction for the tech workforce by identifying and addressing the skills gaps and establishing a plan to upskill and reskill the workforce to harness productivity-enhancing tools (e.g. artificial intelligence) and other tech accelerations.

Success Story

MMB helped a Thai-based multinational company automate its entire HR process to prevent the mishandling of data and improve employee data privacy, while also reducing the admin hours spent and freeing up HR’s time for strategic priorities.

Want to know how MMB can help you in the digitalisation journey, uncover potential risk blind spots and gain valuable insight into improving employee cybersecurity and data security preparedness?

Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help.