Top Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann announces joint venture to combine legal and tech solutions

Rajah & Tann’s tech arm Rajah & Tann Technologies (RTTech) has announced a joint venture with Resolvo Systems in order to leverage Resolvo’s 20 years’ experience as a cybersecurity specialist and the firm’s own offerings in data protection and cybersecurity law.

Dubbed Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity (RTCyber), it aims to make legal and cybersecurity expertise available for businesses all in one place and was formed in response to increasing cyberattacks in Singapore and the region, with new threats emerging as a result of an uptick in online activities during the pandemic.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated our client’s reliance on digital data. As their transformation partner, we see ourselves providing them with a much-needed service at this most dire of times,” said RTTech director Steve Tan.

Tan said cybersecurity is one of a suite of six services – including legal tech, e-discovery and digital forensics, data breach readiness and responses, contract management and academy – that RTTech seeks to offer clients. RTCyber’s combination of legal and cybersecurity expertise under one roof is the first offering of its kind in Singapore and furthers Rajah & Tann’s aim to reshape legal services through digital innovation.

With the reliance on digital services heavily increasing during the pandemic, Tan believes the joint venture will offer businesses a way to prepare for what he believes has become inevitable.

“It is a matter of when, not if, an organisation is hit by a data breach, especially since the number of malicious perpetrators targeting vulnerable systems, websites, and individuals continues to grow exponentially,” he said. “Organisations have to be proactive in securing their data against loss or cyberattacks, not only for security reasons but also to comply with data protection and other legal requirements.”

Wong Onn Chee, CTO at Resolvo, added that companies need to be able to evolve alongside the cyber threat landscape. As the level of sophistication seen from cybercriminals grows, companies need to ensure their hardware and software are adequately protected.

Wong, who is also the CEO of RTCyber and Technical Director of RTTech, says the “one-stop shop” ecosystem would provide clients with integrated technology and legal expertise in an “expeditious and efficient manner”.

Cybercrime accounts for 26.8 per cent of all crimes in Singapore, with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore pointing to phishing scams as the leading tactic used by cybercriminals. The rate of phishing attacks targeting the city-state more than doubled between March and May 2020, the Agency reported.

But the buck doesn’t stop with Singapore. Citing the World Health Organisation, Rajah & Tann said global cyberattacks had increased fivefold just one and a half months into the Covid-19 pandemic.

From February to March 2020, a 569 per cent growth in malicious registrations, including malware and phishing, were reported to Interpol. The jump in fraudulent activity can be chalked up to pandemic-inspired malware, as criminals take advantage of increased demand for medical supplies and information.