Vietnam suffers most phishing attacks on small businesses in Southeast Asia
In this article (4)
Vietnam led Southeast Asia in the number of phishing attacks targeting small enterprises in the first half of this year. There were more than 1.6 million attacks on small and medium-sized enterprises with 50-250 employees in the region, up 39 percent from the same period last year, Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said a report it released on Tuesday.
Vietnam accounted for 464,300, followed by Indonesia (406,200) and Malaysia (269,500). Singapore had the least number of attacks, but the number of cases was up 60.5 percent. On a global scale, Brazil topped followed by Russia, France, Columbia, and the U.S.
The most common scams included using information about the novel coronavirus as bait, swindling people by offering to sell masks, seeking donations for vaccine research, and offering relief payments.
The report also mentioned several other common phishing tricks such as evaluating job performance, important announcements from administrators, requesting emergency password checks, and urgent press releases.
Yeo Siang Tiong, Kaspersky’s general manager for Southeast Asia, said the surge in attacks in Southeast Asia was due to the fact many companies let employees work from home since the end of March, resulting in a large number of users clicking on an infected link or attachment.
Vietnam recorded 2,017 cyber attacks on its information systems in the first half of 2020, down 27.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Department of Information Security.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which specific types of businesses are most affected by these phishing attacks in Southeast Asia?
Which specific types of businesses are most affected by these phishing attacks in Southeast Asia?
The attacks primarily target small and medium-sized enterprises with 50-250 employees. This particular segment of businesses experienced over 1.6 million attacks in the first half of this year across the region.
Q.What are the common themes or methods used by phishers in these attacks?
What are the common themes or methods used by phishers in these attacks?
Common scams include using novel coronavirus information as bait, such as offering to sell masks, seeking vaccine research donations, or promising relief payments. Other tactics involve fake job performance evaluations, important administrator announcements, and urgent password requests.
Q.What is the primary reason cited for the increase in phishing attacks in Southeast Asia?
What is the primary reason cited for the increase in phishing attacks in Southeast Asia?
The surge is attributed to many companies allowing employees to work from home since late March. This change led to a higher number of users inadvertently clicking on infected links or attachments, according to Kaspersky’s general manager for the region.
Reader pulse
How concerned are you about phishing attacks?
22,922 votes so far