Kaspersky Reminds Cyber Risks In IT And OT Convergence In Asia Pacific

Illustration (photo: Pexels)

JAKARTA - The era of the Disparator of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) is over. Both domains are now increasingly integrated, thus opening up business opportunities as well as adding security gaps in Asia Pacific (APAC).

Currently, the Asia Pacific IT/OT convergence market is worth 13.41 billion US dollars. Its value is projected to jump to 62.17 billion US dollars by 2030.

On the other hand, this convergence also carries new cybersecurity risks. When the dividing line between the IT system and the OT runs away, the surface of the attack expands.

"In Q1 2025, Southeast Asia was ranked second and Central Asia was ranked third in the global ranking based on the percentage of ICS computers blocked by malicious objects in it," said Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.

According to Kaspersky ICS CERT Kaspersky's report, in Q2 2025 the percentage of ICS computers in APAC blocked malicious objects reached 23%, higher than the global average of 20.54%.

Asia Pacific is said to be one of the top regions in terms of the percentage of detected viruses, 2-3 times higher than the world average.

The electricity, oil & gas, manufacturing, and engineering sectors are the most affected, with countries such as Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Indonesia being on the highest list of victims of the ICS virus attack.

In response to the increasing threat targeting this important infrastructure, Kaspersky encourages the implementation of a layered cybersecurity framework with a smarter Security Operations Center (SOC) at its core.

Hia explained that her framework could start with prevention, using threat intelligence devices such as brand protection, distribution machines, and compromise indicators to identify threats before they occur.

The second layer focuses on protection through advanced devices such as the EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), MDR (Managed Detection and Response), and XDR (Extended Detection and Response) platforms, to incident response services, penetration tests, and cyber exercises.

The integration of IT and OT will accelerate. Cybersecurity in Asia Pacific must evolve in order to be able to bridge the two domains, protect operations, and ensure resilience," he stressed.