Why Asia is a prime target for cybercriminals
US security company cites lack of awareness of cyber threats and lack of disclosure regulation as reasons why the region is vulnerable
From attacks on Ukrainian power grids to central bank heists in Bangladesh and the leak of stolen information from the Democratic National Committee in the US, cybersecurity threats have escalated massively in recent years.
Governments, companies and individuals are equally susceptible all over the world, but cybersecurity experts believe Asia is most vulnerable to such attacks.
Data from American security company FireEye showed 28 per cent of organisations in Asia-Pacific were hit with an advanced cyber-attack in the second half of 2015, nearly double the global average of 15 per cent.
Experts told CNBC there were several reasons why Asia is a prime target for hackers.
Large, potential victim pool to target
Housing nearly 60 percent of the world’s population, the aggregate number of people connected to the Internet in Asia is massive - nearly a billion people have access to the Internet, with more than half of them in China .
In August, Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported the country had 710 million internet users as of June 2016, according to an official report from the China Internet Network Information Centre.