PHL lands fourth in Kaspersky’s global ranking of countries targeted by online threats
The Philippines dropped to fourth place in the global ranking of countries most targeted by global threats according to Kaspersky Security Network (KSN).
In a report released Monday, KSN said that in 2023 web threats against the country fell by about 2%, however, the Philippines is still the top country in Southeast Asia in terms of web-borne threats last year.
The Philippines (48%) came behind Mongolia (51.8%), Moldova (48.9%), and Greece (48.8%) in the recent global ranking. The Philippines has consistently been among the top 10 countries in the ranking since 2019.
In 2022, it was in second place.
Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines is trailed by Malaysia and Vietnam (48.0% and 38.70%, respectively), with the overall percentage of users attacked by web-borne threats from January to December 2023.
Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company, “strongly advised” the Philippines from letting down its guard.
Yeo Siang Tiong, Kaspersky’s general manager for Southeast Asia, notes there were two reasons possible behind the country’s drop in ranking, one is that the Philippines is “making headway in cybersecurity.”
“We classify the Philippines to be in the intermediate group of countries that are identifying cyberattacks and making efforts to implement rules,” he said.
The second, is that cybercriminals use methods that are not directly seen.
“One trend that we consistently have been seeing lately is their preference for targeted attacks instead of the spray-and-pray method,” said Yeo Siang Tiong.
Web or online threats are done through browsers, allowing cybercriminals to spread malware. This can be done even without the involvement of the victim.
Complacency is still not an option, Yeo Siang Tiong said.
“Cybercriminals continue to develop their tools and techniques. They surprise cybersecurity experts all the time,” he said in the same press release.
“Our mindset should be how to be able to hunt threats before they could cause harm and damage… This is where threat intelligence comes in handy,” he added. — Patricia B. Mirasol