Disproportionate emphasis is being placed on cyber security and too little emphasis is being placed on physical data risks, particularly from paper documents and the careless disposal of confidential documents.

Physical breaches can be as serious as cyber breaches, and may be just as common.

I see sensitive documents being sold to karung guni men in the Central Business District.

There is an apparent reluctance to acknowledge that this method of disposal represents a continued, unaddressed risk.

Awareness will not improve until this is recognised. Would the same inertia exist if it were a cyber breach?

Continuing to believe that physical breaches are less common than cyber breaches in Singapore undermines the effectiveness of a holistic message when it comes to ensuring data security.

Duncan Brown