Experts at Kaspersky predict the cybersecurity threat landscape in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region this year will be driven by rapid digitalization and geopolitical frictions.
According to a global cybersecurity company, organizations and individuals in the region are still targeted by phishing, scams, data breaches, and politically motivated cyberattacks.
Kaspersky researchers from GReAT have predicted the key cyber threats in 2024 in APAC countries and territories.
The Philippines, alongside other Southeast Asian (SEA) countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are prevalent with scams and phishing.
The United Nations (UN) has reported that hundreds of thousands of people from Southeast Asia have been recruited for online scams, including romance-investment scams, crypto fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling. These criminal organizations often advertise professional roles, such as programmers, marketers, or human resource specialists, using seemingly legitimate and elaborate procedures to recruit unsuspecting victims.
As more and more people in Southeast Asia use digital payment methods, there is a growing concern over the lack of laws and regulations protecting their online rights. This has made it easier for scammers to deceive people online, leading to increased online scams. The situation is complex and needs to be addressed to ensure people are safe using digital payment methods.
“Law enforcement is working on many of those cases, involving scam and phishing attacks and we have seen successful operations in 2023,” shared Vitaly Kamluk, Head of Research Center for Asia Pacific, Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky. “Nevertheless, we think that the scale of online scam and phishing attacks in Southeast Asia will only continue growing in the coming years due to technical and legal illiteracy of many people involved in such attacks from operators to victims.”
For organizations in APAC, which also includes the Philippines, Kaspersky shares the tips below to keep safe from these upcoming threats in 2024:
- Always keep software updated on all your devices to prevent attackers from infiltrating your network by exploiting vulnerabilities.
- Establish the practice of using strong passwords to access corporate services. Use multi-factor authentication for access to remote services.
- Choose a proven endpoint security solution such as Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business that is equipped with behavior-based detection and anomaly control capabilities for effective protection against known and unknown threats.
- Use a dedicated set for effective endpoint protection, threat detection, and response products to promptly detect and remediate even new and evasive threats. Kaspersky Optimum Security is the essential set of endpoint protection empowered with EDR and MDR.
- Use the latest Threat Intelligence information to stay aware of actual TTPs threat actors use.
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