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According to Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd., a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, cyberattacks surged by 53% in Asia-Pacific in April-May 2021, with Taiwan ranking fifth at 17%. Cyberattacks surged by 168% this May in Asia-Pacific compared to last year, with an average of 1,245 attacks per enterprise each week. In terms of malware category, ransomware and remote access trojans (RATs) ranked the highest, up by 26% during January-May, as a result of work from home (WFH).
According to Check Point, cyberattacks in Asia-Pacific surged in May 2021. Compared to the increase in the previous months, the top five countries were Japan (40%), Singapore (30%), Indonesia (25%), Malaysia (22%), and Taiwan (17%). As a new round of WFH has recently begun in Asia-Pacific, there may be more security vulnerabilities for attackers to exploit. In addition, the rising probability of successful cyberattacks in Asia-Pacific will encourage attackers to target these areas. The snowball effect also accounted for the surge in cyberattacks in the region.
Check Point added, COVID-19 has also slowed the economic growth of major Asian economies. According to the World Bank, the lockdown policies everywhere have seriously reduced economic activities in Asia-Pacific, with the worst situation found in Southeast Asia. As the crime rate often escalates in hard times, the same applies to cybercrime.
In terms of the targets of cyberattacks, the highest increase was found in utilities (39%), internet service providers and hosting service providers (12%), and the software industry (6%).
For cyberattack prevention, Check Point advises enterprises to keep up with new ideas of information security and follow related rules to prevent future attacks. These rules include maintaining security at all times, upholding the principle of least privilege (PoLP), taking preventive action, considering all forms of attacks, and keeping up with the latest threat intelligence to proactively block threats, maintain normal business flows with comprehensive intelligence, and respond quickly to resolve cyberattacks by monitoring corporate networks with information security services and incident response.
