Kaspersky: Indonesia Becomes the Country with the Most Ransomware Attacks

JAKARTA - Cyber ​​thieves are aggressively targeting companies in Southeast Asia (SEA) as victims of ransomware attacks.

Ransomware is a type of malware that locks a person's computer and mobile device or encrypts a person's electronic files. In order to get the "decryption" key or to get your data back, a ransom is required by the cybercriminals behind it in return.

Global cybersecurity company Kaspersky predicts this trend will continue in 2023 and beyond, or even in a more sophisticated and targeted way than before.

Kaspersky notes that ransomware has grown rapidly since its first attack in 1989. In May 2017 there was the Wannacry ransomware, a high-impact incident that resulted in an estimated $4 billion in losses in its aftermath.

Due to their high return on investment nature, ransomware groups continue to attack companies globally, including businesses in Southeast Asia.

New statistics from Kaspersky reveal that a total of 304,904 ransomware attacks targeting businesses in Southeast Asia were successfully blocked by Kaspersky's B2B solutions last year.

Indonesia became the first country with the highest number of incidents thwarted by Kaspersky B2B solutions (131,779). Then followed by Thailand (82.438) and Vietnam (57.389). While the Philippines recorded a total of 21.076 attacks, Malaysia with 11.750 attacks, and Singapore 472.

Kaspersky Telemetry also revealed that the most common types of ransomware targeting businesses in Indonesia are:

• Trojan-Ransom. Win32. Wanna
• Trojan-Ransom. Win32. Agent
• Trojan-Ransom. Win32. Stop
• Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Gen
• Trojan-Ransom. Win64. Zikma

“One of our new studies has confirmed that three out of five businesses in Southeast Asia have been victims of ransomware attacks. Some have, but half have fallen victim to it many times," said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia on Tuesday, February 21 in Jakarta.

Kaspersky's 2022 data also reveals that this threat will continue to be a threat to companies in Southeast Asia, as it proves to be highly profitable for actors.

"Because some business executives think ransomware is simply exaggerated by the media, and corporate security teams are completely overwhelmed and lack the expertise to detect and respond to it," Yeo added.