Philippines climbs to 4th place in list of countries with most online threats in 2021

The Philippines climbed two notches in a global list of countries with the most web threats detected in the past year, according to data released by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

Data from Kaspersky found that the Philippines ranked fourth in 2021 with over 50.544 million web threat attempts, up from sixth place in 2020 when threats were recorded at 44.420 million.

Belarus was the most attacked country for the year with 54.9% of the users attacked by web-borne threats, followed by Algeria with 51.4%, and Kazakhstan with 51.3%.

The Philippines came in with 51.2%, followed by Latvia with 50.7%, Ukraine with 50.5%, Greece with 49.9%, Tunisia with 49.8%, the Republic of Moldova with 49.2%, and Kyrgyzstan with 48.9%.

“Because of the internet, carrying on with work and school during the pandemic has been significantly possible,” Kaspersky Southeast Asia General Manager Yeo Siang Tiong said in an emailed statement.

“The internet has also provided people a temporary escape from real life during lockdowns. This is true not just for Filipinos but for everyone around the world,” he added.

The country has been under a form of COVID-19 pandemic restriction since March 2020, with several firms adopting remote working options for their employees. Most of the schools in the country are still teaching on a remote learning basis.

“We cannot stop using the internet so we really encourage Filipinos to be extra cautious and really get into the habit of practicing cyber-hygiene,” Yeo said.

“These basic habits remain the same and include regularly scanning devices for viruses, changing passwords, keeping apps, software, and operating systems up to date, and wiping your hard drive,” he continued. — DVM, GMA News