Spyware Attacks in Southeast Asia Increase, Singapore Records Sharp Increase

JAKARTA - Global cybersecurity and digital privacy company Kaspersky has revealed an increase in spyware threats against businesses in Southeast Asia throughout 2025. Spyware is a type of software that is secretly installed on a user's computer to collect their data.

The activity of spyware surveillance makes users vulnerable to data breaches and misuse of personal and confidential data. Spyware also affects network and device performance, slowing down users' daily activities.

Based on company data, their business security solutions managed to thwart 818,939 spyware attacks targeting organizations in the region, up 18 percent compared to 2024 which recorded 695,425 detections.

Kaspersky's General Manager for ASEAN and Asia Emerging Countries, Simon Tung, said the trend of increasing spyware attacks showed that threat actors were not only trying to disrupt business operations, but also targeted intelligence collection.

"Our data shows that we are entering an era where threat actors are not only targeting business disruption. We are seeing an increase in targeted intelligence gathering in Southeast Asia, which turns corporate networks into fertile hunting grounds for sensitive information," said Tung.

Vietnam was recorded as the country with the highest number of spyware detections in Southeast Asia in 2025 with 322,821 attacks, up 8% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Malaysia experienced a significant spike of 75% to 194,692 attacks, followed by Indonesia which recorded 194,626 attacks or an increase of 35% compared to the previous year.

Singapore was the country with the highest annual increase, jumping 111% from 14,533 detections in 2024 to 30,691 attacks in 2025.

The Philippines also experienced a sharp increase of 85% to 23,203 attacks. On the other hand, Thailand is the only country in the region that recorded a decrease in spyware detection, down 53% to 52,906 attacks.

Tung added that increasing economic uncertainty and geopolitical complexity make corporate data and intelligence an increasingly valuable asset for cyberattackers.

"Spyware is very dangerous for businesses in Southeast Asia because it operates in secret, extracting the most important things: sensitive data, strategic insights, and corporate intelligence," added Tung.

To overcome this, Tung emphasized, organizations need to go beyond traditional security, adopting AI-powered and intelligence-based solutions that can detect and disrupt threats before data is compromised.