swissnex network
locations in APAC hotspots
for Cybersecurity

swissnex network
locations in APAC hotspots
for Cybersecurity

Introduction
As more and more aspects of our daily lives,
ranging from communication, transportation,
financial transactions to medicine, becomeheavily reliant on computers and the internet,
the significance of cybersecurity is also
increasing, particularly in the Asia-Pacific(APAC) region where the market is expected
to grow most rapidly in the next five years.
Interestingly, the swissnex network locationsin APAC are exactly the countries named ashotspots for the cybersecurity market.
According to a report1 by Mordor Intelligence,
India has experienced a rapid increase incybercrime registration, ranking fifth in termsof overall Domain Name System (DNS) hijacks,
whereas South Korea is becoming one of theprime targets for cyber-attacks due to thecountry’s increasing number of connected
devices and advanced use of mobile devices.
Australia is the nation most under attack, with
90% of the Australian companies reportingto have received up to 5’000 threats a day,while India, China, Singapore and Japan are
named as emerging markets facing increasing
cybersecurity related issues. In the case ofChina, its sheer size makes a general safety ofnetworks very difficult.
The report forecasts the Asia-Pacificcybersecurity to expand with a 18.3%
compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
between 2020-2025. This compares to a
14.5% CAGR for the global market.
One reason for the high growth is that the12countries are more susceptible to harness
technology, to improve lives and livelihood,as the world is about to embrace a newage from information technology with cloudcomputing, 5G and artificial intelligence (AI)that require a new level of cyber protection.
Furthermore, the whole payment systemand the huge online shopping business relyon digital transactions which can prove tobe critical for hacking. The outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic will also contribute to
the significant growth of cyber-attacks.

Although the above applies to most of thedeveloped countries around the world,
the APAC countries are, in general, more
adoptive of new technologies, as is the casewith deployment of cloud-based services.
The CISCO Cybersecurity Series 2019
report2 found that Asia-Pacific countries
tended to have higher percentages of theirinfrastructures hosted in the cloud rather
than on premise. Moreover, In APAC countries,
16% of organisations had between 80100% cloud-based hosts, compared to 9%
globally. In the same survey, 50% felt cloud
deployment of cybersecurity solutions offer
better data security.

The CISCO
Cybersecurity
Series 2019
report found that
Asia-Pacific countries
tended to havehigher percentagesof their infrastructures
hosted in the cloudrather than onpremise.

Governments stepping up actions

Strong international partnerships remain keyto navigating the increasingly complex cyberterrain. Hence, countries hold bilateral andmultilateral dialogues and make collaborative
efforts. In 2018, Singapore signed with theNetherlands, the U.S., Australia, Germany,https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/asia-pacific-cyber-security-market
https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/en_sg/assets/pdfs/cisco-2019-apac-cisco-benchmark-study.pdf

NEXTRENDS ASIA

2swissnex network
locations in APAC hotspots
for Cybersecurity

Japan and Canada, MOUs that covercybersecurity cooperation in key areas,such as sharing of information and bestpractices, cybersecurity training and research,joint cybersecurity exercises with a focus
on the protection of Critical Information
Infrastructure, and commitment to promote
voluntary norms of responsible state behavior
in cyberspace.
South Korea in 2019 hosted the Second
Inter-Regional Conference on Cyber/ICT
Security, cooperating with the Organization forSecurity and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)and co-hosted the Warsaw Process Working
Group on Cybersecurity with the UnitedStates and Poland. Japan has held a seriesof high-level dialogues with countries such as
the U.K., Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., France,EU, India, Israel and more over the past twoyears. India is a signatory to 39 Mutual Legal
Assistance Treaty Agreements, 54 MOUs/
Joint Statements and 10 Cyber Frameworks
with various countries. Some of the mostprominent ones are with the U.S., Israel andRussia.
Australia is trying to strike a balance between
its economic ties with China and its strategic
alliance with the United States. More than asimple alignment on U.S. policies towards
the People’s Republic of China (PRC),
Australia’s decision to exclude Huawei from5G infrastructure development can be seenas an expression of concern about Chineseinterference in Australia and its growing
influence in the region.
In August, Canberra took further steps
announcing an additional spending of A$1.66

NEXTRENDS ASIAbillion (US$1.19 billion) over the next 10years to strengthen the cyber defenses ofcompanies and households, in addition to theA$1.35 billion budget announced in June forbolstering the capabilities of its cybersecurity
agencies. Broadening the scope ofgovernment’s protection to businesses is a
new approach that will be closely watched.
The Indian government took a similar stancein early summer this year, when it declared it
would block more than 100 apps with links toChina, including TikTok, citing concerns about
national security and data privacy. The movecame as a surprise as India had remained
neutral in different bilateral and multilateral
forums, which is still the official stance of thegovernment.
Meanwhile, China has strictly denied
allegations of state involvement incyberattacks. Still, western states such as
Germany and the U.S. have been hesitantto engage in deeper relations with China on
cyber security issues and, vice versa, they
do not appear in the Chinese strategy as
primary partners. Rather, the PRC focuseson collaboration with African and SouthAmerican Countries, as well as its neighboring
countries Japan and the Republic of Korea(ROK). The most recent Trilateral Cyber Policy
Consultation among Japan, PRC and ROK
was held on November 18, 2019.

Critics have been
vocal about theproblem, that there isno general policy on
blockchain in place
yet and the legal
basis is limited.

swissnex network
locations in APAC hotspots
for Cybersecurity

Cross-ministerial lead agencies

The governments are highly committed tocybersecurity and cyber-diplomacy as a safe
and secure cyberspace is critical for nationalsecurity, powering digital economy andfinally to protect our digital way of life, as it issaid by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) ofSingapore3.
In terms of organisation, Australia, India,
Japan and Singapore have establishedcross-ministerial lead agencies betweenlate 2014 and early 2015 with the Australian
Cyber Centre (ACSC), Indian National Cyber
Coordination Centre (NCCC), Japanese
National Center of Incident Readinessand Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) andthe Singaporean CSA. The ACSC leads
the operational response to cybersecurity
incidents, organises national cybersecurity
operations and resources, and contributes
and provides advice and information to thepublic, businesses, academic institutions aswell as the government about cyberthreats.
NICS is the national focal point for
coordinating intra-governmental collaborationand promotion of partnerships, linking various
governmental bodies with the industry,academia and the public.
While China has an even more integrated
system in place, South Korea has maintained
a collaborative structure between the multiple
governmental agencies4.

Blockchain use still in the planning

Governments are seeking the use ofblockchain for cybersecurity. The Australian

Department of Industry, Science, Energy
and Resources has released a national
Blockchain strategy which aims at capturing
the potential value generated via businessrelated blockchain activities, with a particularfocus on supporting global supply chain
management systems and tracing.
In India, there is increased focus and researchon the use of blockchain technology forcybersecurity. The Institute of Development
and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT)
is currently working on one such project
to develop a R&D ecosystem for different
government departments to foster blockchain
technology in the domains of governance,banking & finance and cybersecurity.
As for most other innovative technologies,
China also invests heavily in blockchain
applications and tries to implement it in its
security apparatus.
However, critics have been vocal about theproblem, that there is no general policy on
blockchain in place yet and the legal basis
is limited. Even in Australia, the Digital
Transformation Agency released a guideregarding the adoption of distributed ledger
technologies in the administration andstressed, among other things, that blockchain
is an emerging technology worthy of ongoingobservation but in need of standardisation.
Moreover, China’s attempt to centraliseblockchain under the control of thegovernment is not well received in westerncountries. Blockchain systems have initially

https://www.csa.gov.sg/
Namely, the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) under the Ministry of Science and ICT, National Cybersecurity Center within the National
Intelligence Service, Cyber Bureau within the National Police Agency (NPA) and Information Sharing and Analysis Center for Financial Security Institute,Cyber Command Department of the Ministry of National Defense, and Korean Institute of Criminology. In case of serious cyber intrusions or crimes, theNPA’s Cyber Bureau or the Cyber Department of the Prosecutowr’s Office takes the lead. The Korean National Computer Emergency Response (KNCERT) within the National Cyber Security Center of the National Intelligence Service provides technical assistance

34

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4

swissnex network
locations in APAC hotspotsfor Cybersecurity

been developed to democratise cashflows
by emphasising on privacy, avoidance ofinstitutions and anonymous transactions.
Taking leverage over this tool would givethe state complete insight and control overcashflows and transactions of its users.
As China is becoming a more and morecashless society, it would become difficult forindividuals to avoid blockchain and hence thegovernment’s supervision. This discussion
reveals a longstanding controversy on theextent to which privacy should be given up
for security, over which China and democratic

countries take opposite stances.
In the meantime, Korea and Japan haveindustry participants moving ahead of the useof blockchain technologies in cybersecurity.
KT (formerly Korea Telecom) created GiGA
Chain, a 5G network-based blockchain
technology to prevent cyberattacks and toincrease security for devices connected tothe network, by masking the IP address ofthe devices. Japan’s NEC Corp. will offer aservice to secure the authenticity of Internetof Thing (IoT) devices using blockchain
technologies throughout its life cycle.

© 2020 swissnex Network in Asia
The swissnex Network in Asia collaborates with a broad spectrum of partners related to international research andinnovation, supporting them in their outreach and active engagement in the global exchange of knowledge, ideas
and talent. swissnex is an initiative of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation and is part of theConfederation’s network abroad managed by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The activities of the swissnex
Network in Asia are based on a collaborative approach, relying on public and private partnerships and funding.