Experts from Kaspersky looked at how the cyberthreat landscape in the area has changed throughout the course of the 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024. The conversations centered on how the security of upcoming technological advancements, such artificial intelligence, may affect the range of contemporary dangers. At the same time, weaknesses in industrial control systems found in important infrastructure across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East were brought to light. The Cyber Immunity methodology developed by Kaspersky took center stage as a means of creating solutions that are almost impenetrable and minimizing the amount of probable vulnerabilities.
When examining Pakistan’s threat landscape, Kaspersky’s telemetry showed that, altogether, there were 17% more cyberthreats in the nation in 2023 than there were in 2022. By 2023, Kaspersky had stopped 16 million cyberattacks in Pakistan.
A multinational cybersecurity and digital privacy group called Kaspersky recently performed research and found that 24.4% of Pakistani users are at risk of online attacks. Experts from Kaspersky further investigated Pakistan’s threat landscape and found that attacks using banking malware had surged by 59%. The goal of these assaults is to take advantage of vulnerable PCs to obtain sensitive data, including online banking passwords.
Additionally, a 35% increase in trojan infections was found by researchers. Trojans are computer programs that look legitimate but are really employed by criminals to run harmful software. Moreover, there was a 24% increase in ransomware attacks in Pakistan, which encrypt a victim’s data, files, or system and make it accessible in exchange for money. Furthermore, a 36% rise in spyware attacks was noted by the researchers. Spyware is malicious software that infiltrates a user’s computer, gathers data from the device and user, and then distributes it to unidentified third parties.
Pakistan holds a crucial position in Asia as it rapidly embraces digital transformation as a rising nation. The sophistication and diversity of cyberattacks increase as cybersecurity technology develops. Given the emergence of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing geopolitical and economic unpredictability in the META region, this trend is particularly apparent. These factors work together to increase the complexity of cyberattacks and the rise in cybercrime, according to Amin Hasbini, Director of the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at the META Research Center.
The cybersecurity threat landscape in the META region has significantly changed, according to Kaspersky’s study. In the region, Kenya (39.2%), Qatar (38.8%), South Africa (35%), and Turkey (41.8%) had the highest percentage of users impacted by online threats. The countries with the lowest percentage of impacted users were Oman (23.4%), Egypt (27.3%), Saudi Arabia (29.9%), and Kuwait (30.8%).
