Kaspersky researchers list down key areas to watch out for

KUALA LUMPUR: Digitalisation, elections, 5G rollout, health sector, ransomware, cloud security and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are key areas to watch out for in Southeast Asia this 2021, according to Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team.

In regard to digitalisation, it said 2020 had witnessed a drastic increase in the use of online payment services and transactions, as well as a growing number of potential victims have come online.

“We have already witnessed an increased number of phishing attacks on such victims in the first half of 2020 and this trend is expected to continue through 2021.

“There were ample lures going around with a Covid19 theme this year, and as the availability of vaccines draws closer, we might see similar lures incorporating vaccination themes as well,” Kaspersky said in a statement yesterday.

On elections, it noted that Malaysia had recently stated that it will conduct re-elections once the pandemic has been overcome, which if it follows through, should come to fruition some time in 2021.

“Kaspersky researchers will undoubtedly see such tactics being increasingly employed by the various stakeholders as each country draws near to their elections in 2021 and onwards,” it said.

Meanwhile, it anticipates the 5G rollout to open up various avenues for potential attack surfaces ( number of possible vulnerable points in a computer system where an attacker can get through), as generally software is considered more accessible and arguably easier to discover vulnerabilities for.

Kaspersky said the healthcare field as a cyber threat target is a worldwide trend.

“This means an ever increasing number of patient data is coming online as well as the increase in attack surface throughout the health sector.

“According to Kaspersky researchers, this trend will continue through 2021,” it said.

Another key area would be ransomware, despite a reduction in ransomware attacks across the region recently.

Kaspersky said it had been noticing that the ransomware threats were becoming more dangerous, sophisticated, and targeted.

“While the ransom amounts being demanded are likely to continue to increase, we expect to see an increase in ransomware attacks, due to the sheer number of increased potential targets across the region and thus a reversal of the current trend in 2021.”

On cloud security, Kaspersky’s experts see an increasing number of companies incorporating clouds in their business models, thanks to the convenience and scalability they offer.

“However, this is a relatively new attack surface which is increasing as more businesses come onboard.

“There might be a heightened number of breaches on such infrastructure if companies make rookie mistakes and do not deploy proper security measures and solutions which can often be the case for newer adopters,” the global cybersecurity company said. — Bernama