ESET has launched its AI-powered Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services in Singapore, positioning the offering as a response to rising cyber threats and a growing shortage of skilled security professionals across Southeast Asia.
Announced on 19 January 2026, the launch introduces two MDR subscription tiers: ESET PROTECT MDR for small and medium-sized businesses, and ESET PROTECT MDR Ultimate for large enterprises. Both services provide 24/7/365 monitoring, threat detection and incident response, supported by ESET’s global threat intelligence and local expertise.
ESET said its MDR service delivers a mean time to respond (MTTR) of six minutes, which it claims is among the fastest in the industry. This contrasts sharply with industry figures showing the median time to detect a breach can extend to several weeks, significantly increasing the risk of data loss, operational disruption and financial damage.
The launch comes amid mounting pressure on organisations across Singapore and the wider ASEAN region. ESET’s APAC SMB Cybersecurity Report 2024 found that nearly half of Singaporean organisations lack a dedicated cybersecurity team, while more than half struggle to keep pace with evolving threats. Alert fatigue was also cited as a major challenge, reflecting the volume and complexity of modern attacks.
These issues are amplified by a regional shortage of cybersecurity professionals, with Asia Pacific facing the largest talent gap globally. ESET said its MDR services are designed to help close this gap by combining automation, AI-driven detection and human-led threat hunting into a fully managed service suitable for organisations at different levels of security maturity.
For enterprises, ESET PROTECT MDR Ultimate adds proactive threat hunting, deeper visibility and access to remote digital forensic and incident response support. The company said this allows security teams to move beyond reactive defence and focus on resilience and business continuity.
Pamela Ong, country manager for Asia and Singapore at ESET, said fast response times are critical in highly connected digital economies such as Singapore. She said the ability to detect and contain threats within minutes can be the difference between a minor incident and a major breach.
ESET has also positioned the service to support managed service providers (MSPs), which are increasingly targeted by supply-chain attacks. The MDR offering is designed to operate as a single, always-on security service that helps MSPs protect both their own environments and those of their customers, without adding operational complexity.
By launching MDR services locally, ESET said it aims to support Singapore’s role as a regional digital hub while helping organisations across ASEAN improve cyber resilience in the face of increasingly sophisticated and time-critical threats.
