Cybersecurity and regulation revealed as top risks facing TMT sector

SINGAPORE, October 10, 2024 – Cyber and data privacy is the number one risk across the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sectors, as they become increasingly reliant on innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) to drive growth, according to the Technology Media and Telecoms risk report 2024 published today by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company.

The report, based on a survey of the global TMT industry, also reveals growing concerns about the impact of regulation and trade tensions on future prospects. Some key takeaways include:

• Innovation pressure: A majority (67%) of respondents identified innovation as a strategic priority for the next two years, driven by fears of being left behind by competitors or agile start-ups, while artificial intelligence and machine learning are seen as key opportunities for growth.
• Cyber fears: These trends are driving increased perception of cyber threats. It topped the list of risks to business success in all three sectors, with 51% of media and telecoms businesses (51%) and nearly half of technology firms (46%) identified cybersecurity as one of their biggest risks. Ransomware attacks were the top cyber risk factor, named by 62%.
• Regulation worries: 55% said regulation was the biggest barrier to achieving strategic objectives as governments become increasingly assertive with rules around ownership structures and dominant market positions for critical technology and infrastructure.
• Trade tensions: 74% of respondents said trade disputes were among their greatest geopolitical concerns as firms face increasing restrictions and tariffs related to the disengagement between China and the West.
• Climate and ESG risks: 50% of respondents ranked climate change among their top concerns (54% in media), reflecting the rising concern over new technologies’ carbon footprint. Examples of this include generative AI models such as ChatGPT, which require more power than traditional computing.

Simon Weaver, Head of Asia Pacific and Head of Corporate Risk & Broking Asia Pacific, said “Technological advancements in TMT have a two-sided nature. As new opportunities arise, they inevitably bring new risks. In Asia Pacific (APAC), supply chain disruption was the number one risk for technology firms we surveyed. On the other hand, AI and machine learning present the greatest opportunities for the sector over the next two years, particularly with the region’s focus on innovation and 5G expansion by many of the telecoms companies. For media companies, online advertising and AI seems to be most attractive to companies in APAC.

“As a sector, it is imperative that we evolve in alignment with these developments. Adopting new technologies requires a vigilant approach to potential threats, ensuring that we can adapt safely to the shifting technological landscape. TMT businesses need to navigate this changing landscape carefully and reassess their risks and risk management strategies to meet future challenges.”

Conor Keating, Cyber Growth Leader, Asia, at WTW added, “Our TMT clients across Asia constantly face the challenge of remaining scalable and agile in a hyper-competitive economy, whilst ensuring operational resiliency. As they converge their reliance on innovations such as AI to drive growth, cybersecurity and data privacy also come to dominate risk agendas across their businesses.

“TMT companies can approach this is by bringing the same discipline to cyber risk that is applied to other business risks, viewing it through risk matrices, scenario planning and quantifying what the cost of a cyber-related catastrophe looks like for them in dollar terms. Through this lens, they build a technology strategy that is well-aware of the financial impact of a cyber-related peril and can properly fund its risk management and risk transfer strategies. These include investing adequately in people and tools for defense, and ensuring there is financial protection for the organisation if these defenses fail.”

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