KUALA LUMPUR: Cyberattacks are on the rise in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
In 2022, the region accounted for 31 per cent of all cyberattacks worldwide.
The environment around cybersecurity in APAC has changed dramatically in recent years, according to Simon Molenberg, HackerOne's vice president (VP) of sales for the region.
He said that the rise in cyberattacks is a result of the quick development of technology, particularly the creation of generative AI (artificial intelligence).
"To keep up, organisations need comprehensive and strategic solutions that scale as threats evolve. I look forward to growing our team, partners, and customer base in APAC, optimising the engagement of the ethical hacker community, and addressing escalating region-specific cybersecurity challenges," he said in a statement.
Molenberg was recently named VP of sales at HackeOne, where he will oversee the company's growth and customer service in the region.
The chief revenue officer of the human-powered security company, Dean Hickman-Smith, said HackerOne is considering growing in APAC as a result of the increase in cyberattacks in the area.
He said that with the hiring of Molenberg, the company is eager to grow its go-to-market initiatives and APAC operations.
"I'm looking forward to triple-digit growth and continued expansion across the region over the coming years," he added.
More than 50 companies, including A.S. Watson Group, MINDEF Singapore, Lime, and Toyota, depend on HackerOne's worldwide ethical hacking community to deliver AI-driven insights on the most cutting-edge and elusive vulnerabilities before cybercriminals use them.
A.S. Watson Group's chief information security officer, Feliks Voskoboynik, said that the security approach needs to adapt in order to keep up with the increasing risks in Asia, especially since retail is still a top target for cybercriminals.
"Ethical hackers have not only helped us find and fix the most impactful vulnerabilities faster, but their diversity of perspectives and impactful insights have helped train our internal security teams to increase protections in an intensifying threat landscape," he said.