FireEye appoints Eric Hoh to lead APAC business

By Digital News Asia April 1, 2015

To spearhead regional expansion as FireEye grows global presence
Breach rates in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan exceed 50% versus global avg of 27%

FireEye appoints Eric Hoh to lead APAC business FireEye Inc. has appointed Eric Hoh (pic) to the role of president of Asia Pacific Japan, to oversee the company’s business operations and sales across the region.

He will be based at the cybersecurity solutions provider's regional headquarters in Singapore and is the first to hold the role.

“Asia Pacific organizations are more likely to be attacked than their counterparts around the world because of regional political tensions, growing economic influence and industries like manufacturing and high-tech all attract the attention of advanced threat groups.

“FireEye is expanding rapidly in the region and Eric [Hoh]’s experience, passion for security and deep knowledge of these diverse markets make him an ideal leader to grow our Asia Pacific team,” said Dave DeWalt, FireEye chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement issued.

Hoh brings 20 years of technology industry experience to FireEye and most recently led Symantec’s regional sales in Asia South and Korea. Prior to Symantec, he held sales leadership roles with Veritas Software and Seagate Software.

Since it began Asia Pacific operations in Australia in 2010, FireEye has grown its regional presence from a single employee to over 350 employees including a Research & Development Center in Bangalore and a joint Singtel-FireEye Advanced Security Operations Centre in Singapore, which opened in February.

The company noted that with the Asia Pacific region’s dynamic geopolitics and rapid economic growth, state-sponsored threat groups routinely target and breach organizations within every country in the region. These groups steal proprietary information to gain advantage in commerce and national security.

From July to December 2014, a recent report from FireEye found 37% of organizations surveyed in the region had been breached by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups.

In the mostly highly targeted countries such as Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, their breach rates all exceeded 50%, significantly higher than the global average of 27%.

“Whether organizations are in Sydney, Bangkok or Tokyo, they are facing a new onslaught of sophisticated cyber attacks that easily bypass traditional security solutions and put their most valuable intellectual property at risk.

“FireEye is bringing together the right mix of technology, intelligence and expertise to deliver a cyber defense strategy that organizations in this region can deploy to stay secure in the face of the most advanced attacks,” said Hoh.