The latest report from technology company Zoho, revealed a regional email security awareness score of 43.2% in Southeast Asia (SEA), compared to 40.7% for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and 39.9% for South America (SA).
Zoho said SEA outperformed other developing regions in email security awareness. The report surveyed over 400 respondents from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The findings highlighted the region’s leadership in “Anomaly Detection in Email Behavior” and “Data Protection in File Sharing.” Also, 25% of the respondents were Zoho customers, who showed higher awareness levels across these threats compared to the regional average.
Industry-specific findings
The report identified significant differences in email security awareness across various sectors. The technology and education sectors demonstrated the highest levels of awareness, particularly in “Authentication and Access Control” and “Anomaly Detection in Email Behavior.” In contrast, the manufacturing, healthcare, and government sectors were most vulnerable to email security threats. The healthcare sector, for example, had a low awareness level of 34% in “Attachments and Phishing,” and significant gaps in “Email Identity Verification” were found across all sectors.
There was a notable disparity in email security awareness between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger enterprises in SEA. SMEs scored 40% on awareness, trailing behind their larger regional counterparts at 51.1%. SMEs in the region also lagged behind developed regions like North America (61.6%) and Europe (54%), though they were slightly ahead of MEA (39.7%) and SA (39.2%).
The report also revealed a relation between experience and awareness. Senior-level employees in SEA, with 11-20 years of experience, scored 54% in awareness, outperforming their counterparts in MEA and SA. However, executive-level employees with more than 20 years of experience showed a decline of 45% from the previous year. New entrants into the workforce had a 30% awareness level, consistent with peers in developing regions.