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Asia Pacific Needs a Better Framework for Information Sharing

This is the last in a series of five brief summaries about cyber security strategy in the Asia Pacific region.

The interconnectedness of Asia Pacific's digital economy means that security is increasingly communal and distributed, which in turn means that there is a heightened need for a timelier, more granular, and more insightful framework for information sharing. Collaborative status and solution-sharing helps enterprises detect potential risks earlier and prevent further cyber attacks. It also makes cyber defense more cost-efficient by distributing costs and reducing duplication.

There has been some weak movement towards such a sharing framework in countries like the United States, but there are major concerns around issues such as admission of liability, privacy and intellectual property.

Unfortunately, the US regulatory system is poorly equipped to address such concerns, but the Singaporean system of government is better aligned at a structural level with this sort of top-down and long-term initiative. Singapore's recent partnership with network security company FireEye to equip more security professionals with the expertise to defend, detect and respond to cyber threats is also a move in the right direction.

Information sharing is obviously more valuable when good metrics are on hand, sourced from new technologies that allow for better monitoring and faster response. These tactics reinforce and support each other, collectively forming the basis for a safer and smarter cyber security posture.