Cybercriminals show no signs of relenting, as Kaspersky, a cybersecurity solutions provider, foresees an ongoing surge in cyberattacks in 2024. These attacks include phishing, scams, data breaches, and geopolitical motivations.
“With digitalization efforts including the adoption of technologies like digital payments, Super Apps, IoT (Internet of Things), smart cities, and now Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI), cybersecurity will be key to ensuring the resilience of the region’s overall defenses against potentially damaging cyberattacks,” said Vitaly Kamluk, head of Research Center for Asia Pacific, Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky.
Kamluk highlighted the historical engagement of Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) groups in cyber espionage in Asia, stating that Kaspersky expects these groups to persist in their activities due to existing geopolitical tensions in the region.
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Online scam operations
The growing reliance on and trust in digital payment methods, coupled with a lack of regulations protecting users’ online rights, along with a significant number of individuals coerced into participating in online scam operations, further complicates this major issue in Southeast Asia (SEA).
“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,” Kamluk said noting how law enforcers have been successful in their campaign against these scam operations.