PH among most attacked by mobile malware

THE PHILIPPINES was found to be the 7th most attacked country in terms of mobile malware, out of the 213 countries and territories studied by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.

Based on the latest data from Kaspersky Security Network, 16 percent or almost two in every 10 Kaspersky Lab security solutions users in the Philippines had faced a mobile threat in the first quarter. This was a huge jump from the 10 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2015.

“With 119 million Filipino mobile phone subscribers, it is not surprising that the Philippines is now among the top 10 most attacked countries with mobile malware among 213 nations included in Kaspersky Security Network (KSN). The main goal of cybercriminals is to earn, and with millions of active smartphone users in the country, the Philippines is like an overflowing pot of gold,” warned Anthony Chua, territory channel manager for the Philippines and Singapore at Kaspersky Lab Southeast Asia.

“We are publishing these numbers to encourage awareness and not to cast fear. It is high time for Filipino mobile users to think about security. Protect your mobile devices not because of dread for the cybercriminals’ stealthy attacks. Do it for yourself, to secure your data, your privacy and your money. Because once your devices are infected, you will be the biggest losers and the online criminals the highest gainers,” Anthony added.

Topping Kaspersky’s list of most attacked countries was China at 38.2 percent, followed by Bangladesh, wherein 28 percent of the company’s solutions users had faced mobile threats in the first quarter of the year; Uzbekistan (21 percent); Algeria (17.6 percent); Nigeria (17.4 percent); India (17 percent); Indonesia (15.6 percent); Ukraine (15 percent); and Malaysia (14 percent). The safest countries, meanwhile, were identified to be Taiwan (2.9 percent), Australia (2.7 percent) and Japan (0.9 percent).