Kaspersky to public: Use strong, unique passwords to repel hackers

Kaspersky warned against the proliferation of brute force attacks that could lead to the theft of personal data, reminding Filipinos to use strong and unique passwords to fend off hackers.

In a statement on Monday, the cybersecurity firm noted that the Philippines dealt with 2.2 million attempted breaches in the first half.

Southeast Asia, in total, saw 23 million brute force attacks in the same period. Most of these were detected in Vietnam, with over 8.4 million threats, followed by Indonesia with 5.7 million; and Thailand with 4.2 million.

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In brute force attacks, hackers repeatedly attempt to crack passwords and login credentials through trial and error. The goal is to access an account in the hope of obtaining sensitive data.

“Although it is an old method, organizations must not underestimate a brute force attack. This threat is still relevant for the region because many organizations deploy weak passwords, making it easier for attackers to succeed,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky.

He warned that hackers are even employing artificial intelligence (AI) tools when launching brute force attacks.

“Cybercriminals are leveraging AI to enhance the capabilities of brute force attacks by automating the process of generating and testing passwords, making it faster and more efficient,” Yeo said.

The Kaspersky official noted that dealing with a corporate network reach could result in disruptions in the operations.

Apart from recovery efforts, Yeo stressed that companies would also deal with the cost of business downtime.

The cybersecurity firm, as such, advised organizations to implement a two-factor authentication scheme, which provides more layers of protection.

“Monitor access and activity by having visibility over the network to spot any unusual activity and controlling user access to as-needed and as-required basis to minimize risks of unauthorized access and data leak,” it added.