APAC organizations must shift their focus towards building trust

The experts stated that the Asia-Pacific businesses need to start paying more attention to the issue of trust, especially as consumer concerns have surfaced

FREMONT, CA: Organizations around the world, particularly those in Asia-Pacific, are likely to focus more on developing trust, with some employing chief trust officers to lead the efforts. The shift will be important, particularly as ransom ware and supply chain attacks are expected to become more prevalent this year. At least five multinational corporations now have specific CEO positions overseeing trust issues. According to Jinan Budge, principal analyst at Forrester, where she focuses on Asia-Pacific security and risk analysis, none are from the APAC.

She cited Forrester's projection that at least 15 Global 500 organizations would appoint chief trust officers by 2022. These jobs would initially focus on security, privacy, and risk management, before expanding their efforts to include brand strategy, corporate values, and other human-centric components of trust. They would report directly to their CEO. According to the Forrester research, which Budge co-authored, other organizations were also expected to add such responsibilities to an existing C-level executive, such as chief information security officers.

The experts stated that the Asia-Pacific businesses need to start paying more attention to the issue of trust, especially as consumer concerns have surfaced. When it came to making online purchases, she said that privacy and secrecy were the top five objectives for consumers in Asia-Pacific. Forrester expects two chief trust officers from this region to be chosen in 2022, she said. Enterprises should be concerned about talent drain in the security sector, in addition to the need to develop trust.

According to Forrester's forecasts, one out of every ten experienced security specialists will leave the business this year. With more than 3 million job openings worldwide, the security industry's talent shortage would be exacerbated by CEO burnout. Forrester's 2021 data shows that 51 percent of cybersecurity workers reported significant stress, and 66 percent indicated they contemplated quitting owing to work stress, low financial incentives, and limited promotion and career development.