Top cyber malware threats in Asia and the most vulnerable industries

As cybercrimes increase worldwide, threats are not just limited to developed nations.

Corporations and governments across Asia are aggressively pushing digital interfaces, and with that, have opened themselves up more to hackers and online criminals who are looking for data theft, and sometimes, even money.

During the first half of 2015, about 29 percent of FireEye’s customers in Southeast Asia detected malware associated with advanced persistent threat groups, the cybersecurity firm said. That was higher than the global average of 20 percent.

The California-based company provides threat-detection technology and post-attack forensic services across the world and grabbed headlines in 2014 when it came to light that FireEye employees in Bangalore had alerted Target to its imminent hack. If the company had worked on the notice, it could have prevented the biggest retail hack in the history of the United States.

FireEye’s customers also include the CIA and the Pentagon, so when FireEye talks about cyber threat in a region, it is wise to listen.

A recent report on Southeast Asian countries by the company said of all its customers in the region, Hong Kong was the most affected by cyber threats, followed by Taiwan and Thailand.

Kaba was the most prevalent type of malware in the region, followed by LV. Detections of LV and Kaba constituted over 30 percent of all advanced persistent threat malware hits in Southeast Asia and globally, the report said.

Kaba is a remote access tool that hits technology, aerospace, defense, entertainment, media and government the hardest. It may send out system information and accept control commands from a remote server. LV determines its host’s NetBIOS name, user, date, locale, and Windows OS name and relays that information to its command and control server.

As for industries, entertainment, media and hospitality were the most threatened, followed by government websites and financial services.

Graphics courtesy FireEye and Tech In Asia’s Kathrinna Rakhmavika