Islamabad: At the 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024, Kaspersky experts examined the evolution of the region’s cyberthreat landscape. The discussions focused on the security of future technology developments such as AI, which are influencing the scope of modern threats. Parallelly, vulnerabilities to industrial control systems in key infrastructure in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia were highlighted. Kaspersky’s Cyber Immunity methodology gained center stage as a method for developing solutions that are nearly impossible to hack and reduce the number of potential vulnerabilities.
Looking at the threat landscape in Pakistan, Kaspersky’s telemetry revealed that the number of overall cyberthreats in the country increased by 17% in 2023 compared to 2022. Kaspersky prevented 16 million cyber intrusions in Pakistan by 2023.
According to the most recent data conducted by Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy organization, 24.4% of Pakistani users are vulnerable to online attacks. When Kaspersky experts examined the threat landscape in Pakistan further, they discovered that attacks using banking malware increased by 59%. These attacks are meant to harvest online banking credentials and other sensitive information from affected PCs.
Researchers also discovered a 35% spike in trojan infections, which are disguised as legal computer programs but are used by hackers to execute dangerous malware. Furthermore, ransomware attacks, which encrypt a victim’s data, files, or system and make it available in return for a payment, climbed by 24% in Pakistan. In addition, the researchers discovered a 36% increase in spyware attacks, which are harmful software that enters a user’s computer, collects data from the device and user, and distributes it to third parties without their knowledge.
“As an emerging country absorbing digital transformation at a rapid rate, Pakistan has a critical role to play in Asia. As the cybersecurity landscape advances, cyber attacks become more diversified and sophisticated. This trend is especially noticeable in light of the rise of new technologies such as AI, as well as the rising geopolitical and economic volatility in the META region. These elements jointly contribute to the spike in cybercrime and the heightened complexity of cyberattacks,” says Amin Hasbini, Director of META Research Center’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).
According to Kaspersky’s report, the cybersecurity threat landscape in the META region has shifted dramatically. In the area, Turkey had the largest percentage of users affected by online threats (41.8%), followed by Kenya (39.2%), Qatar (38.8%), and South Africa (35%). Oman and Egypt had fewer affected users (23.4%) and 27.4%, respectively, followed by Saudi Arabia (29.9%) and Kuwait (30.8%).
