Kaspersky Report: The Number Of Stalkerware Victims In The World In 2023 Increases

Stalkerware illustration. (Kaspersky)

JAKARTA - Kaspersky's annual report entitled "State of Stalkerware" reveals that in 2023 there will be 31,031 individuals worldwide who have been affected by theft or stalking.

For information, shopkerware will usually disguise itself as a legitimate application which is then installed on the victim's device secretly, and eventually takes over the device.

Of the total number of victims of the sneakerware, Kaspersky saw an increase of almost six percent year-on-year (5.8 percent) from 29,312 affected users in 2022.

According to Kaspersky Security Network, in 2023, users in Russia (9,890), Brazil (4,186), and India (2,492) are the three countries most affected bytalkerware.

As for Indonesia itself, we occupy the 6th position with the highest number of stakeholders in the world with a total of 871 victims.

In addition, Kaspersky also found 23 percent of respondents worldwide who were asked for this report claiming to have experienced some kind of online stalking from someone they had just dated. In addition, a total of 40 percent reported having or suspected of having been stalked.

On the other hand, 12 percent claimed to have installed or set parameters on their partner's cellphone, while nine percent admitted to pressuring their partner to install the monitoring application.

Regarding the attitude towards monitoring his partner's online activities on a consensual basis, 45 percent of respondents expressed their disapproval, and highlighted the importance of privacy rights.

On the other hand, 27 percent support full transparency in relationships, viewing that monitoring based on consensus is the right thing, while 12 percent think monitoring can only be accepted if a mutual agreement is reached.