IT industry veteran Joseph Leong Wai-fung appealed to companies to revamp their corporate culture and pay more attention to cybersecurity.
“[The senior management of organisations] We are not treating this topic as a high priority. Therefore, not enough resources are provided,” said Leung, who is also a lecturer in the College of Professional Education and Executive Development at the Polytechnic University.
He also said the city's image, which it plans to develop as an I&T hub in the Greater Bay Area, could be tarnished by the recent hacks.
The Bay Area refers to the Chinese government's ambitious plan to transform Hong Kong, Macau, and nine mainland Chinese cities into an integrated high-tech economic powerhouse by 2035.
“This could impact investors who were planning to set up an office in Hong Kong. “They may think that they are not taking a serious stance,” Leon said.
The incident could also impact the purchase of products and services online or offline by overseas customers who are concerned that their personal data is not adequately protected, he added.
David Yip Ching-yong, a veteran cybersecurity expert and founding chairman of the Hong Kong-China Network Security Association, shares similar views.
“Hong Kong is currently suffering greatly from a lack of cybersecurity talent and low awareness among top management in many industries. Therefore, Hong Kong can be an easy target for hackers and criminal organizations,” Yip said. Told.
He warned that the city could face challenges in developing as an I&T hub if it does not meet the cybersecurity and data protection standards requirements of Bay Area partners and customers.
Yip noted that Chief Executive John Lee Kat-chiu announced in his policy speech last year that Hong Kong's first cybersecurity law would come into force in 2025.
However, the cybersecurity expert said the law primarily focuses on critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, telecommunications, transportation and finance.
A number of government agencies have also fallen victim to recent breaches, with the latest involving the fire department and the data of more than 5,000 employees and residents.
Last week, the Companies Registry announced that the personal information of around 111,000 people had been compromised due to a digital platform failure, while the Electrical and Mechanical Services Authority said a system security failure had compromised the data of 17,000 public housing tenants. reported.
In response to the issue, the government's chief information technology arm, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, last Sunday asked all bureaus and departments to review their computer security and report back within a week.