Protecting Singapore businesses and homes in the face of growing cyberthreats

ViewQwest wins in this year’s Asian Telecom Awards with their SecureNet service

Global internet penetration has grown from 54% in 2019 to 63% currently, and Singapore continues to be one of South East Asia's leading digital nations with a nationwide fibre infrastructure and 92% of the total population (5.45 million) now online. 

This pervasive connectivity and reliance on the internet has created increased exposure to the threat of cybercrimes such as phishing attacks, ransomware, and dangerous malware. These now constitute nearly half (48%) of total crimes in Singapore as of 2021.

Having fast internet --- even the fastest in the country --- is now no longer enough. Network security shouldn’t be optional, but a necessity. Faced with this challenge, telecom and cybersecurity services provider, ViewQwest, launched their SecureNet service as part of their broadband offering in Singapore. Developed as a countermeasure against cyber threats in partnership with global cyber security leader Palo Alto Networks, SecureNet automatically blocks online threats before they wreak havoc in homes, businesses, and organisations across the country. Because of this innovation, ViewQwest has been awarded the Broadband Telecom Company of the Year - Singapore Award at the 2023 Asian Telecom Awards.

The awards programme recognises the efforts of Asia’s telecommunications companies in providing high-quality products and services to the market, and ViewQwest has elevated itself from Singapore’s telecom landscape after providing a simple yet effective protection to customers against cyber threats.

Recognised five years in a row from 2018 to 2022 by Ookla Speedtest Awards as the Fastest Fixed Broadband in Singapore, ViewQwest has gone beyond providing fast internet connection and rolled out SecureNet to ensure customers’ broadband connectivity is equipped with network security at all times in their homes and businesses.

Statistically, Singapore recorded 55,000 cases of phishing in 2021 which exposes victims’ private data and financial information. ViewQwest was the first telco in Singapore to take this innovative step towards providing accessible and effective cyber protection to their customers, with most focusing their efforts on entertainment, gaming, smart home, and connected hardware bundles, all of which can be potential entryways for attacks.

What separates SecureNet from other cyber security offerings is that the company has built into their infrastructure not only the capabilities to support the high speeds they offer but also the protection and safety measures they have installed to ensure uninterrupted cyber protection. 

With their partnership with Palo Alto Networks, one of the world’s leading cybersecurity organisations, ViewQwest leverages machine learning technology to conduct full deep packet network traffic inspection that automatically filters out online threats such as malware, botnet attacks, and phishing activities. This technology and security platform is constantly updated and upgraded to meet the ever-evolving capabilities of cyber threats in what is similar to a digital arms race.

ViewQwest has also designed SecureNet to overcome the complexity and cost that often become hurdles to cybersecurity adoption, especially for homes and smaller businesses that usually may not have any IT background or tech expertise. SecureNet provides effective and easy network security with no need for any application app or hardware to be set up or installed on the customer’s side as it is built into ViewQwest’s broadband service.

The company reports that their penetration for their residential and SME customer base is at 31%, resulting in SecureNet blocking nearly 33 million malicious ads and five million malware attacks during the third quarter of 2022 alone. This is double the amount of cyberattacks prevented during the first quarter of the same year amounting to 18.6 million cyberattacks 

With SecureNet, ViewQwest has successfully protected thousands of customers, preventing  potential financial losses, lost productivity, and privacy loss.

In the face of growing cyber threats, ViewQwest believes that telcos have the responsibility to not only give the best service to their customers but to also protect them from cyber threats. Singapore is amongst the leading nations on the path to becoming a digital-first country. It’s essential now that all roads that lead to this vision also be secure.