According to the global cybersecurity and digital privacy company Kaspersky, it has prevented 25% more password stealers in Southeast Asia (SEA) during the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2020.
Password stealers are a type of malware that steals account information. In essence, it is similar to a banking Trojan, but instead of intercepting or substituting entered data, it usually steals information already stored on the computer: usernames and passwords saved in the browser, cookies, and other files that happen to be on the hard drive of the infected device.
Overall, Kaspersky solutions have blocked 776,684 Trojans designed to steal accounts in Q1 2021, 155,942 more incidents compared with last year’s 620,742.
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While Indonesia and Thailand registered a slight decrease, the remaining four SEA countries logged an uptick in password stealers detections. Singapore registered the highest increase at 79% followed by Malaysia at 61%.
“It is known that Southeast Asia has the most active social media users in the world. At the same time, the region is witnessing a massive digital shift at a breakneck speed. We are now 400-million-strong online consumers, a number predicted to happen not until 2025. It is expected that cybercriminals would be very interested to take over our virtual accounts brimming with financial and confidential data,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, GM for Southeast Asia, Kaspersky. “As we harness the power of technology and the internet, we urge everyone to strengthen their online locks regularly. Like how we improve our security systems as our houses accumulate more assets, we should also be more thorough on how we secure our online properties as we store more data in it.”
To boost your password and to secure your accounts, Kaspersky experts provide some quick tips and tools:
- Check the strength of your current passwords. Kaspersky has a free tool to help you with this
- Use Have I Been Pwned, to see if your passwords have been leaked
- Update your password regularly, at least every 90 days. A password manager can assist you in remembering them
- Set up two-factor authentication, so even if your login and password have been stolen, they will not be enough to access your account
- Only download apps from trusted sources
- Use a reliable security solution, such as Kaspersky Total Security, which will be able to identify stealers and stop them from stealing your data
Filipinos can avail themselves of Kaspersky’s limited offer to secure their devices.
- Free e-gift vouchers (choice of Grab, GCash, or PayMaya) are up for grabs for every purchase of:
- Kaspersky Total Security (valid for 1 year for 1 device) or
- Kaspersky Internet Security (valid for 1 or 2 years for 1, 3, or 5 devices)
Participating Kaspersky products are available from official partner stores in Metro Manila, official partner e-stores, and via Shopee and Lazada. Promo runs from May 29 to July 17, 2021.