Malaysia ranks 19th globally in cyber threat exposure

SHAH ALAM – Malaysia ranks 19th among countries with the highest number of detected cyberthreats, according to the Cyberthreat Live Map operated by global cybersecurity company Kaspersky.

Statistics displayed on the platform showed that Malaysia recorded tens of thousands of threat detections across various categories.

The highest number was recorded under On-Demand Scan (ODS), with 55,210 detections, followed by On-Access Scan (OAS) with 32,428 and Web Anti-Virus (WAV) with 20,660.

In addition, 12,617 detections were recorded under Mail Anti-Virus (MAV), while Kaspersky Anti-Spam (KAS) registered 952.

The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) category recorded 739 detections, followed by Vulnerability Scan (VUL) with 46 and Ransomware (RMW) with 35.

These detections involved various forms of digital threats, including malware, network intrusion attempts, web-based threats and ransomware attacks.

Meanwhile, Russia topped the list of countries with the highest number of detected cyberthreats, recording 4.12 million detections under ODS and 3.29 million under OAS.

Brazil ranked second, with 398,809 OAS detections, followed by 258,845 under ODS and 135,401 under WAV.

The country also recorded 39,429 KAS detections, 33,598 under IDS and 12,506 under MAV.

Separately, the FortiGuard Labs live threat map, as of 11.15am, also showed cyberattack activity targeting several locations in Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Penang.

Based on the display on Nov 8, the platform recorded 22 attacks per second, while 1.9 million attacks were blocked over a 24-hour period, with 140 active threat activities detected.

The industries most frequently targeted in Malaysia included telecommunications, banking, finance and insurance, technology, education, as well as transportation and logistics.

Meanwhile, Radware’s Live Threat Map showed that the United States dominated the list of sources of cyberattacks, accounting for 75 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom (nine per cent), Germany (eight per cent), and the Netherlands and France at four per cent each.

Based on monitoring over a one-hour period, the United States was also the most targeted country, accounting for 40 per cent, followed by India, Australia and Canada at 16 per cent each, and Japan (12 per cent).

In addition, Check Point’s live cyberthreat map displayed global cyberattack activity, with the total reaching 1.59 million attacks on the day shown.

The platform also highlighted cyberthreat trends affecting Malaysia over a 30-day period through a graph showing fluctuations in attack activity.

Several countries, including Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Mongolia and Indonesia, were listed among the most targeted based on the rate of attacks against organisations over a 24-hour period.