Malicious Mobile Bankers Attacks In Southeast Asia Increases 60 Per Cent -- Kaspersky

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- Global cybersecurity company, Kaspersky, reported an uptick of 60 per cent in the number of attacks using malicious mobile bankers detected and blocked in the region. In a statement, it said according to its second-quarter (Q2) 2021 mobile treat report for Southeast Asia (SEA), mobile banking Trojans were used by cybercriminals to steal funds directly from mobile bank accounts. “These malicious programmes typically look like legitimate financial apps but when a victim enters their security credentials to try to access their bank account, the attackers gain access to that private information,” it said. It said since the beginning of 2021, Kaspersky products have foiled 708 incidents across six countries in SEA. “This is already 50 per cent of the total number of mobile bankers blocked in 2020 which was 1,408,” it said. It said Indonesia and Vietnam logged the most number of incidents in the region during the first half of the year. However, it said globally, the two countries were not among the top 10 countries affected by the threat. “Vietnam is only 27th and Indonesia is 31st as of June this year,” it said. It said the five countries with the most mobile banking Trojan detections in Q2 2021 are Russia, Japan, Turkey, Germany and France. Kaspersky said although the number of mobile banking Trojan attacks in SEA remained low, 367 incidents from April to June 2021 versus 230 detections during the same period last year, the continuing pandemic continued to force users to start using mobile payment systems. It said in order to beef up financial safety online, users could use a temporary credit card to make online purchases, dedicate one computer to online banking and shopping, use a dedicated email address, manage and protect online passwords and install a virtual private network (VPN) when using public Wi-Fi. -- BERNAMA