Cyberattacks vs PH firms escalated in 2023, says Kaspersky

MANILA, Philippines — Cyberattacks targeting Philippine businesses surged by over threefold last year as threat actors stepped up their game amid increasing digitalization, according to Kaspersky.

In a statement on Monday, the Russian cybersecurity firm reported that web-based attacks aimed at local enterprises surged to 1.69 million last year from 492,567 in 2022.

Web attacks come in different forms, including the typical phishing emails embedded with suspicious web addresses linking to fake websites. The goal of cyber attackers is to illegally obtain sensitive and personal data they can use to take over one’s bank, e-wallet, and other accounts.

Perpetrators have remained active because of financial motivation. With a successful account takeover, they can siphon off money and transfer the amount to their own accounts.

Southeast Asia, in total, dealt with more than 13 million cyberattacks last year—about the same amount it fended off in 2022.

Most digital threats recorded in Indonesia

Kaspersky tracked most of the digital threats in Indonesia with nearly five million attacks, followed by Vietnam with about two million.

READ: PH faces more cyberattacks from China-based hackers

More than 36,000 online attacks were deployed every day last year in the region, Kaspersky noted.

“As most governments in the region build and boost their policies to foster their digital economy and infrastructure, it is urgent for local businesses to prioritize strengthening their cyber defenses against threats lurking online which can hamper their efforts to harness the benefits digitalization brings about,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, Kaspersky general manager for Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Kaspersky also blocked nearly 300,000 ransomware attacks last year in the region.

Most of these were detected in Thailand with 109,315 incidents, followed by Indonesia, with 97,226, and Vietnam with 59,837. The Philippines came next with 15,312 ransomware attacks foiled during the period.

READ: PH cyberdefenses building up; attacks down in 2023

Ransomware is a cyberattack whereby hackers hold an entity’s network hostage until a ransom is paid.

The disruption in operations caused by such cyberattacks is detrimental to the business due to spending related to the retrieval of their data or system, in addition to opportunity costs because of the downtime.

“With the massive data all types of organizations are handling now and the immense reputational and financial damages an attack can result in, an adaptive and intelligence-led security solutions and services portfolio is the need of the hour,” Yeo added.