The incidence of cyber threats in Pakistan rose 17 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, as revealed during Kaspersky’s 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The discussions at the event focused on the security challenges posed by emerging technology trends like Artificial Intelligence (AI), which have contributed to the proliferation of modern threats. Moreover, threats targeting industrial control systems within critical infrastructure across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia were given attention.
Kaspersky’s Cyber Immunity approach garnered significant attention as a strategy to develop highly resistant solutions to compromise and minimize potential vulnerabilities. In Pakistan, Kaspersky’s telemetry data indicated a 17 percent increase in overall cyber threats in 2023 compared to 2022.
During the same period, Kaspersky thwarted 16 million cyber attacks in Pakistan. According to the latest research by Kaspersky, 24.4 percent of users in Pakistan were affected by online threats.
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A deeper analysis of the threat landscape in Pakistan revealed a 59 percent rise in banking malware attacks aimed at stealing online banking credentials and sensitive information. Additionally, trojan attacks, which disguise themselves as legitimate programs to execute malicious code, increased by 35 percent.
Ransomware attacks, which encrypt a victim’s data or system for ransom, surged by 24 percent. Furthermore, spyware attacks, which covertly gather and transmit data without consent, saw a 36 percent increase.
Amin Hasbini, Director of the META Research Center Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), emphasized Pakistan’s significant role in Asia’s digital transformation. He highlighted that as cybersecurity threats evolve, they become more diverse and sophisticated, especially with the emergence of advanced technologies like AI and the escalating geopolitical and economic turbulence within the META region.
Kaspersky’s analysis of the cybersecurity threat landscape in the META region indicated varying impacts across countries. Turkey had the highest percentage of users affected by online threats (41.8 percent), followed by Kenya (39.2 percent), Qatar (38.8 percent), and South Africa (35 percent). On the other hand, Oman (23.4 percent) and Egypt (27.4 percent) experienced fewer affected users, followed by Saudi Arabia (29.9 percent) and Kuwait (30.8 percent).