Web, mobile apps top security risks

In addition, 48 per cent of those surveyed highlighted the lack of skilled security personnel or training as one of the biggest challenges to implementing an application security programme. 
Geok Cheng Tan, managing director of Asia Pacific at the Synopsys Software Integrity Group said that it is not sur-|prising that web and mobile applications represent such a high risk to businesses in Asia, |as they often process highly |sensitive information and cyberattacks targeting them are increasing in sophistication |in the region. To effectively address cyber threats, software companies need to move beyond reactive measures by imple-menting software security |initiatives that embrace the |fundamentals of software integrity and proactively build security and quality into their software development lifecycle (SDLC).
A total of 54 per cent of the respondents viewed customer-facing web and mobile applications as the areas presenting the highest security risk to businesses, followed closely by embedded and IoT systems at 20 percent. Desktop applications and internal-facing web applications were represented at 16 percent and 10 percent respectively.

Unprepared 
Aside from the technical challenges in securing customer-facing web applications, 38 per cent of professionals identified protection of customer data and intellectual property (IP) as paramount, while 12 per cent suggested regulatory compliance.
66 per cent of the respondents have a strategy in place in the event of a security incident. 16 per cent said they did not, while 18 per cent suggested that they are unsure. This suggests that nearly one-fourth of the respondents (24 per cent) remains unprepared in the face of a cyberattack.
82 per cent of those surveyed have received some form of cyber security training, which under-lines the importance of cyber security and the need to better understand the threat landscape.
The survey was conducted at GovernmentWare (GovWare) 2017 from September 19 to 21, 2017, in Singapore, the anchor conference at the Singapore International Cyber Week 2017 – the region’s most established cyber-security convention. The in-person survey is based on responses from attendees including C-level IT professionals as well as managers and other executives.
Synopsys Inc is the Silicon to Softwar partner for innovative companies developing the electronic products and software applications we rely on every day. As the world’s 15th largest software company, Synopsys has a long history of being a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP and is also growing its leadership in software security and quality solutions. Whether you’re a system-on-chip (SoC) designer creating advanced semiconductors, or a software developer writing applications that require the highest security and quality, Synopsys has the solutions needed to deliver in-novative, high-quality, secure products.