{"id":55890,"date":"2026-07-21T08:43:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T07:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/2026\/07\/21\/fortinet-report-gives-singapore-a-cybersecurity-reality-check\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T01:11:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T00:11:02","slug":"fortinet-report-gives-singapore-a-cybersecurity-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/2026\/07\/21\/fortinet-report-gives-singapore-a-cybersecurity-reality-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Fortinet report gives Singapore a cybersecurity reality check"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>A new Fortinet report surveys Singapore IT leaders and finds a perfect storm of talent shortages, board unpreparedness and rising AI-driven threats.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortinet, a global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, has released the <em>2026 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report<\/em>, revealing the emerging and persistent challenges organisations face as they grapple with ongoing cybersecurity skill shortages and the ever-evolving threat landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key findings from the global survey include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The lack of cybersecurity skills \u2013 stemming in part from insufficient investment in cybersecurity talent \u2013 remains a top cause of devastating security breaches.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Although cyber defenders are effectively leveraging AI-powered tools, upskilling and reskilling are necessary to fully reap the benefits from these advanced technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite gaps in investment, intentional efforts are being made to attract and retain top-tier cybersecurity talent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCybersecurity is not simply a technical issue but a strategic business risk,\u201d said Carl Windsor, CISO at Fortinet. \u201cThis year\u2019s survey suggests that while boards generally recognise the importance of cybersecurity, more investment is needed to address key issues, such as emerging AI risks and the ongoing cybersecurity skills shortage. Addressing these issues is critical to business resilience in an increasingly complex threat landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cybersecurity must be prioritised<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lack of cybersecurity skills remains a top cause of devastating security breaches in enterprises. The Singapore survey revealed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Eighty percent of organisations report one or more breaches in the past 12 months. 66% say breaches cost them more than US$1 million \u2013 up from 43% in 2021. Breaches cost most in Singapore, with US$2.3 million being the average.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For the third consecutive year, IT leaders cited a lack of cybersecurity skills as a top cause of security breaches (64%). Half (50%) say they mostly need senior-level cybersecurity skills, yet 58% struggle to get approval for additional cybersecurity talent. This is surprising as 44% say executives and even Board members have faced penalties after a cyberattack, underscoring the risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Employees\u2019 use of AI creates new cybersecurity challenges that Boards fail to understand. The report revealed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only 56% of leaders believe their Board members are \u2018fully aware\u2019 of potential AI risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seventy-two percent expect more need for AI oversight and governance roles on cybersecurity teams over the next three years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite investment gaps, investment in certifications is up year-over-year (YoY). Findings from the report demonstrated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Willingness to pay for certifications is up: 94% revealed they would pay for an employee to get certified, up from 88% of respondents in the 2025 report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dedicated initiatives to identify and nurture talent: To source talent from underrepresented groups, 92% use internships, apprenticeships, partnerships and programs. Over half (68%) report formal hiring targets for underutilised talent pools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AI for cybersecurity creates opportunities and challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AI-powered cybersecurity tool adoption is widespread as decision-makers see its potential to support cybersecurity teams with their operations. The findings revealed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ninety-two percent of respondents are using or experimenting with AI-powered cybersecurity solutions. Scepticism or uncertainty about AI for cybersecurity is 36%, down from 46% in last year\u2019s report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ninety percent say AI-enhanced security tools are helping IT and security teams be more effective and efficient. This is critical, as cyber defenders and cybercriminals are now equipped with the same technology; 44% of respondents cited defending against AI cybersecurity attacks as a top concern.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>AI is widening the cybersecurity skills gap. At the same time, there are multiple efforts to overcome it. Survey respondents cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fifty-eight percent say their top recruiting challenge is finding cybersecurity talent with specific experience in AI. Today, 94% are likely to invest in AI-related cybersecurity training or certifications in the next 12 months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Organisations say they require staff with new skillsets to support their adoption of AI, including: AI model development (54%), AI tool oversight (46%) and security automation (56%). 66% of organizations are developing internal training or reskilling programs to support AI adoption, while 62% are procuring training or reskilling from industry vendors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Organisations should continue tapping into underutilised talent pools and investing in training and upskilling to build and retain the expertise they need. This requires a coordinated approach grounded in three key pillars: raising awareness and education, expanding access to targeted training and certification and deploying advanced security technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new Fortinet report surveys Singapore IT leaders and finds a perfect storm of talent shortages, board unpreparedness and rising AI-driven threats. Fortinet, a global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, has released the 2026 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report, revealing the emerging and persistent challenges organisations face as they grapple with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":55891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7027,1463,3559,38,59,44],"tags":[1108,174,374,1841,1625,69,10210],"class_list":["post-55890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intelligent-technologies-ai","category-apac","category-cybersecurity","category-analysis-research","category-south-east-asia","category-top-stories","tag-ai","tag-cybersecurity","tag-fortinet","tag-report","tag-research","tag-singapore","tag-skills-shortage"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55890"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55895,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55890\/revisions\/55895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/apac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}