Latest technology, expertise and intelligence to counter rising attacks in region
29% of customers in Southeast Asia targeted by advanced attacks in the second half of 2014
SINGAPORE, 25 February 2015 – Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) and FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) today launched their first joint Advanced Security Operations Centre (ASOC). The new ASOC combines FireEye’s leading security expertise with SingTel’s deep info-communications capabilities and extensive regional data infrastructure.
The Singtel FireEye ASOC provides organisations with the latest technology, expertise and intelligence to enhance their security protection against the rapidly growing threat of advanced attacks in the Asia Pacific region.
Located in Singapore, the ASOC is the first facility of its kind to be integrated into Singtel’s existing network operations centre. This gives cyber security experts end-to-end visibility of Internet traffic, corporate networks and user end-points, for a swift response to security incidents.
The ASOC has 50 security professionals locally, and access to a global network of FireEye SOCs (1) and security experts trained in handling sophisticated cyber threats and forensics. Singtel-FireEye customers will have access to experts who provide ‘follow-the-sun’ capability 24/7 to detect, protect against and respond to cyber threats. (For more information on the ASOC, please refer to the Appendix.)
In conjunction with the launch, Singtel and FireEye have released their first Southeast Asia cyber threat report. This is a detailed look at the threat landscape based on real-world attack data collected from customers in the region. For example, the report shows that 23% of all customers in Singapore have been exposed to an advanced attack between July and December 2014.
Mr Bill Chang, Singtel’s CEO of Group Enterprise, said: “The increased frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, is a major concern of top management and boards of many enterprises. Damage inflicted by a cyber attack extends beyond a technology issue. Enterprises recognise this and are seeking deeper cyber defence capabilities to protect their assets, brand reputation and customers’ trust.”
Mr Chang added: “The ASOC will be the cornerstone of Singtel’s cyber security capabilities. Through our partnership with FireEye, Singtel is able to provide the best-of-breed cyber security solutions and services for enterprises to better deal with these fast-evolving cyber threats.”
Mr David DeWalt, FireEye CEO and Chairman of the board, said: “We are witnessing a new cyber arms race with nation-states and sophisticated criminal organisations operating with anonymity to breach almost any network at-will. The economic growth and geographic proximity of Southeast Asia has made it one of the most active regions in the world for advanced cyber attacks. Together with Singtel, we can give our customers more visibility into these attacks and help keep their networks secure with what we believe are the best tools and expertise available.”
The ASOC houses a local data store that allows enterprises or government agencies with data location restrictions to stay compliant by keeping their data within Singapore.
The ASOC is also connected to the cloud-based FireEye Dynamic Threat Intelligence network. It provides a platform for the real-time exchange of threat intelligence, such as covert callback channels, as well as new threat findings from FireEye Labs to protect customers around the world when new attacks are identified.
Singtel FireEye Southeast Asia Cyber Threat Report
New findings have identified Southeast Asia as a region that is increasingly under cyber-attack. The joint Singtel-FireEye report, “Southeast Asia: An Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape”, details how Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors and other cyber-attack groups are among those keenly interested in targets located in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei.
From July to December 2014, 29% of customers in Southeast Asia detected malware and attempts to compromise their networks by APT actors.
Industry verticals most often targeted by advanced attack groups include:
Governments – 27%
Telecommunications – 24%
Financial services – 16%
High-tech – 10%
Transportation -10%
Mr Chang said: “This report provides intelligence on the nature of the APT threats in the region and sheds light on some modus operandi of the cyber-attackers. With this knowledge, enterprises can understand the new threat landscape and update their security posture to avoid becoming another cyber-attack victim.”
(1) FireEye Security Operations Centres (SOCs) are located in the US, Europe and Australia (opening soon).
Appendix
Unique capabilities of the Singtel FireEye
Advanced Security Operation Centre (ASOC)
The Singtel FireEye ASOC is an advanced cyber security centre in the Asia Pacific region with a number of unique capabilities:
1. Global footprint – The Singtel FireEye ASOC is connected to a network of FireEye ASOCs in the US, Europe and soon to be operational, Australia.
2. 24/7 proactive monitoring – With access to the FireEye ASOCs around the globe, Singtel and FireEye can provide joint customers continuous ‘follow-the-sun’ capability to detect, protect and respond to cyber threats around the clock.
3. Global Threat Intelligence – The ASOC is integrated with FireEye Dynamic Threat Intelligence, a cloud-based network that connects FireEye technology deployed within customer networks, partner networks, and service providers around the world. This global cloud efficiently shares threat intelligence, such as covert callback channels, as well as new threat findings from FireEye Labs to protect customers with the latest threat intelligence data available.
4. Team of cyber security experts –The ASOC is manned by 50 security experts who provide end-to-end monitoring of malicious cyber activity. The Singapore-based team will be part of a global team of security experts keeping a close watch on unusual traffic and threat activities from organizations around the world.
5. Integrated network and security operation centre – The ASOC integrates the monitoring of network and security operations in one location. This enables Singtel and FireEye’s cyber security experts to have an end-to-end visibility across networks, end points and devices to swiftly respond to any security incident.
6. Data store – The ASOC offers a data store in Singapore. For enterprises or government agencies with data location restrictions, this enables them to stay compliant by keeping their data in Singapore.
