Data Privacy & Cyber Security

ADVANCING ACCOUNTABILITY

How our governance practices drive long-term value

The privacy and security of our customers, employees and other stakeholders is central to our reputation and the trust that we engender as an organisation.

Our Group-wide data privacy practices deliver a robust approach to securing information assets across the Group and are stringently overseen by the Board Risk and Compliance Committee, supported by the Risk and Compliance Department. Furthermore, Data Privacy Officers (DPO) have been appointed at each of our OpCos, supporting the uniform implementation of necessary practices while driving the enhancement of OpCo-level data privacy capabilities.

In ensuring continuous compliance at all levels, due diligence exercises of our vendors’ data-handling processes are regularly carried out. We also updated our Employee Code of Conduct and reviewed our Supplier Code of Conduct in 2021 to achieve full alignment with our expectations.

Outlook

Now in Phase Two of our Privacy Programme, and completing the first year of execution of our cyber security Digital Trust & Resilience 2023 (DT&R 2023) programme, our improvements in cyber and privacy maturity ratings have reaffirmed our efforts in data privacy and cyber security. However, we will continue to execute, capacity-build and enhance awareness of this risk to our business, service reliability and safety for our customers.

Ensuring Our Capabilities & Procedures Keep Pace

With heightened risks surrounding data, digitisation, connectivity and consumer privacy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, our DPOs and OpCo-level Privacy Champions work to ensure that our technical capabilities and risk management procedures keep pace. We also engage external analysts and organisations such as GSMA, ITU, Gartner and the World Economic Forum for insights into emerging risks and industry trends in data privacy and cyber security.

Read the Data Privacy and Cyber Security topic in our Sustainability and National Contribution Report 2021 to learn about the specific risks we identified in 2021.

Robustly Protecting Privacy

Our Privacy Commitment, based on the principles of T.R.U.S.T. (Transparent, Rights, Use, Security and Transfer), form the basis for strong security and privacy governance in our technology, processes and people.

In aiming to achieve consistent and holistic data privacy protection across the Group, our OpCos take responsibility for identifying and managing localised risks, with mitigation actions supported by our established Group-level committees. Additionally, continuous efforts are undertaken at the Group level to engage employees on the importance of data privacy and provide use-case scenarios which they can use to address any potential issues they may face.

Our average Privacy Maturity Level in 2021 was 2.67/5.00, an improvement of 91% compared to 2020

Delivering Next Generation Cyber Security

2021 was the first year of our Digital Trust & Resilience 2023 (DT&R2023) cyber security strategy, a coherent and defensible cyber security programme based on a clear vision and strategic goals to build consumer trust and confidence in Axiata as The Next Generation Digital Champion.

This first year saw us leverage advanced technologies such as AI and data analytics, enhancing our ability to swiftly detect threats, deliver fast response times and maintain consistency across our divisions and activities. We also launched new technical standards for cyber security across Cloud, Telco and Application Development.

Complementing DT&R2023, we promote a cyber-savvy culture within our workforce through training and awareness initiatives, better equipping our teams to mitigate against emerging risks.

Our average Cyber Security Maturity in 2021 was 3.7/5.0, an improvement of 6% compared to 2020

ADVANCING ACCOUNTABILITY

How our governance practices drive long-term value​