Sharp spike in web threats against S’pore Internet users in 2018: Cyber security firm

SINGAPORE —  More than four million web threats against Internet users here were detected and blocked last year, an increase of over 260 per cent from 2017, according to cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab.

In a media release on Monday (April 22), the firm said it blocked attacks for 15.3 per cent of its customers in Singapore last year, up from 13.8 per cent in 2017.

The data was collected from Kaspersky customers here who have installed the company’s cybersecurity software on their computers and voluntarily shared information with the firm.

Despite the rise in numbers, Singapore still had the lowest number of blocked online attacks as compared to its South-east Asian neighbours, said Mr Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager of Kaspersky Lab South-east Asia.

Singapore was the 157th most attacked country worldwide in terms of online infections in 2018, said Kaspersky in its release.

The Philippines ranks as the most attacked country in the region, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia, said Kapersky in response to TODAY’s queries.

However, Mr Yeo cautioned that Singapore Internet users should remain wary.

“As a tech-savvy, a well connected nation, and a rapidly developing business hub in the region, users in Singapore can be considered as lucrative target for cybercriminals,” he warned.

Kaspersky said that around eight in 10 threats which it detected over the past two years were against home users, with the remainder against business users.

Apart from Singapore users being targeted by web threats, servers hosted here were also found to have been used in launching cyberattacks.

According to Kaspersky, Singapore-based servers were the source of more than 29 million web threats in 2018 — the highest number of malicious hosting incidents detected in South-east Asia.

“After the recent breaches that have plagued the nation, we hope that (this) fresh data will underscore the importance of keeping pace with the ever-evolving threats online and the priceless value of being one step ahead of cybercriminals,” added Mr Yeo.

The Republic has been hit with a spate of data breaches in recent months, including a cyberattack on SingHealth's electronic medical records database and the mishandling of blood donors' data by a Health Sciences Authority vendor.

WHAT ARE WEB THREATS?

Web-based threats, also known as online attacks, are malware programmes that that are designed to infect their victims’ computers while they are using the Internet.

These include unintentional downloads of a malicious code that leave devices vulnerable to cyber attacks, or schemes that deceive users into downloading legitimate-looking but infected programmes onto their devices.

The malicious software can then be used to steal money and confidential data, or as a means to launch bigger attacks against other parties worldwide.