Pakistan Sees 17% Surge in Cyber Threats in 2023
Staff Report
Kaspersky experts have reported a 17 percent surge in cyber threats in Pakistan in 2023.
convened during the 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024 to discuss the evolving cyber threat landscape in the region.
The focus was on the security challenges posed by emerging technology trends such as AI, which significantly impact the magnitude of modern threats.
Additionally, discussions highlighted threats targeting industrial control systems within critical infrastructure across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Kaspersky’s Cyber Immunity approach was spotlighted as a strategy for developing solutions highly resistant to compromise and minimizing vulnerabilities.
Kaspersky’s analysis revealed a 17% increase in overall cyber threats in Pakistan in 2023 compared to 2022, with the company successfully blocking 16 million cyber attacks in the country during the same period.
According to Kaspersky’s latest research, 24.4% of users in Pakistan were affected by online threats. Further examination of the threat landscape in Pakistan showed a 59% rise in attacks using banking malware, aimed at harvesting online banking credentials and sensitive information. ECC allocates Rs10b to prevent cybersecurity breaches
Trojan attacks, which masquerade as legitimate computer programs but execute malicious code, increased by 35%. Ransomware attacks, encrypting a victim’s data or system for ransom, saw a 24% uptick. Spyware attacks, gathering and transmitting user data without consent, rose by 36%.
Amin Hasbini, Director of the META Research Center Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), commented, “As an emerging country embracing digital transformation at a rapid pace, Pakistan plays a crucial role in Asia.
However, as the cybersecurity landscape evolves, cyber threats become increasingly diverse and sophisticated, exacerbated by the adoption of advanced technologies like AI and geopolitical tensions within the META region.
These factors contribute to the surge in cybercrime and the complexity of cyberattacks.”
Kaspersky’s analysis of the cybersecurity threat landscape in the META region revealed significant fluctuations. Turkey recorded the highest percentage of users affected by online threats (41.8%), followed by Kenya (39.2%), Qatar (38.8%), and South Africa (35%). Fewer users were affected in Oman (23.4%) and Egypt (27.4%), followed by Saudi Arabia (29.9%) and Kuwait (30.8%).
