KUALA LUMPUR: Global cybersecurity company Trend Micro, in a statement shared that it had blocked 40.9 billion email threats, malicious files, and malicious URLs for customers in the first half of 2021, a 47 per cent year-on-year increase.
In Malaysia specifically, Trend Micro found that a total of 232,701,368 attacks were blocked in the first half of the year with over half of it consisted of email threats (145,947,167), which registered an increase of
24 per cent as compared to the first half of 2020. The number of detected malware also showed an increase of 160 per cent since the first half of 2020.
Globally, ransomware remained the standout threat as cyber criminals continued to target big-name victims. Working with third parties to gain access to targeted networks, these criminals used Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) tools and techniques to steal and encrypt victims' data.
"The first step towards effectively mitigating cyber risk is understanding the scale, complexity, and specific characteristics of the threat landscape," said Trend Micro Malaysia and Nascent Countries' managing director, Goh Chee Hoh.
The banking industry, in particular, was disproportionately affected, experiencing a 1,318 per cent year-on-year increase in ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021 alone.
The report further revealed that business email compromise (BEC) attacks showed an increase of four per cent, potentially as a result of new Covid-19 opportunities for threat actors.
Cryptocurrency miners became the most detected malware, having surged ahead of WannaCry and web shells in recent months while the Zero Day Initiative detected 770 vulnerabilities, a slight two per cent drop from the first half of 2020.
A total of 164 malicious apps related to Covid-19 scams were detected, 54 per cent of which impersonated one of the most used social sites, TikTok.
"In addition to comprehensive protection against fast-evolving threats like ransomware, phishing, and BEC that Trend Micro offers, our biannual roundup reports provide global organisations and stakeholders invaluable insights to help them build a more secure connected world," added Goh.
Cybersecurity is a critical component to the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and Budget 2022 digital transformation emphasis. The biannual roundup report is timely and coincides with the tabling of the 12MP which maps out a five-year development plan to put the economy back on a growth trajectory post Covid-19 pandemic and into a high-income economy status by 2025.
This includes positioning Malaysia as a digital hub for ASEAN. It also comes on the back of the first-ever 2022 Pre-Budget statement issued by the Ministry of Finance in August where the emphasis to accelerate the transition towards IR4.0 and digital transformation remains all the more urgent.
According to Goh, Trend Micro welcomes the government's unwavering commitment to stimulating Malaysia's digital economy and infrastructure as a core element of the nation's economic recovery.
"The 12MP's focus on digitising businesses and facilitating strategic investments is a solid testament to Malaysia's potential in its capabilities and offerings in the digital and cybersecurity space.
"While cloud transformation and enhanced connectivity have been identified as significant areas in this aspect, we are in tandem with the government's emphasis on cybersecurity as a critical component in building the digital ecosystem of the future. Our roundup report evidently shows that the cyber risk and complexity of global attacks have significantly increased, thus the focus on cybersecurity is imperative and should be the foundation in any digitalisation journey,"said Goh.