The Optus data breach in Australia, in which the telco lost the personal information of millions of customers, is of serious concern (Cost of Optus' data breach risks eroding Singtel's profits, Sept 30).

Some media outlets estimate that the cost of the data breach could exceed $500 million.

There was also a recent data breach at luxury hotel chain Shangri-La Group, affecting guests who had stayed at its hotels in Singapore, Hong Kong, Chiang Mai, Taipei and Tokyo (Data breach at Shangri-La hotels; guests' personal info likely stolen, Oct 2).

These incidents highlight the importance of cyber security at various levels of every corporation, as well as the need for every employee to receive effective cyber-security education.

It would be worthwhile to examine the factors that led to these breaches so as to implement ways to avoid future breaches and enhance cyber security.

Government agencies, corporations and cyber-security companies can work more closely together to learn from such incidents and work out ways to improve cyber security and educate staff and customers.

Edmund Lim Wee Kiat