Updated on: March 20, 2024
ESET, one of the worldwide leaders in cybersecurity, released the results from its Asian-Pacific (APAC) Consumer Cybersecurity Survey. According to ESET’s survey, 3 in 5 (62%) respondents said they have experienced a cyberattack or online threat in the past year.
By analyzing consumers’ habits based on previous online interactions, ESET said the survey also provided more information into users’ awareness of basic cybersecurity threats and best practices of online actions.
The survey was conducted earlier in 2021 with 11,200 respondents from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
ESET Response
“As we continue to navigate challenges from the pandemic, the reliance on digital technology for various aspects of our daily lives will likely spill into the future,” said Parvinder Walia, President of Asia Pacific and Japan, ESET. “Our survey findings suggest that it is now common for internet users to encounter online threats. Therefore, it is critical that consumers are educated about the growing threats, and are aware of the steps they can take to protect themselves as well as their children when conducting online activities.”
Of the seven APAC markets surveyed, India (81%), Thailand (65%), and Taiwan (63%) had the highest number of respondents who have experienced a cyberattack or online threat. Also, the ESET survey showed only 23% of respondents installed an antivirus on their devices.
Across the surveyed markets, the most common forms of cyberattacks were attributed to malware/virus attacks (17%), identity theft (13%), and social media breaches/duplication (11%).
Online Shopping Scams
Since people have become increasingly dependent on using the internet, scammers are also taking advantage of this increased online presence to lure new victims, ESET reported. Around two thirds (67%) of surveyed respondents indicated that they have experienced online scams.
The most common types of scams were online shopping (21%), social media (18%), and investment (15%). Since approximately half of surveyed respondents said that they shop online at least once per month, ESET said it is crucial for consumers to remain vigilant when engaging in online transactions.
Additionally, over half of the respondents in the APAC survey said that they completely trust the security measures by online retailers — 45% and 23% of respondents from Thailand and India, respectively, also indicated that they would continue shopping at an online retailer after a data breach, regardless of the security status afterward.
To protect themselves from scams, ESET added that consumers should take more precautions when shopping online. Fortunately, more than 90% of surveyed respondents have taken some form of precaution for their online shopping. Checking for product/seller reviews has been the most popular method of assessing a retailer’s legitimacy across APAC, according to ESET’s survey.