CYBERSECURITY | APAC consumers show higher digital use, cybercrime awareness
Kaspersky said mobile threats are increasing across several APAC markets as consumers rely more heavily on smartphones for financial, social and professional activities.
Consumers in Asia-Pacific are using digital services more frequently and showing greater awareness of cybercrime risks than their global counterparts, according to a recent survey by Kaspersky Market Intelligence.
The B2C Pulse Survey found that APAC consumers reported higher usage across several digital activities, including online shopping at 80%, compared with 71% globally; digital finance at 72%, compared with 70%; digital entertainment at 70%, compared with 62%; and digital communication at 68%, compared with 61%.
The findings were presented during Kaspersky’s APAC Cyber Security Weekend in Guangzhou, China.
The survey also found that 35% of APAC consumers were concerned about digital technology being used for crime, compared with 32% globally. Thailand recorded the highest level of concern in the region at 39%, followed by Malaysia at 38%, Indonesia at 35%, China at 34%, India at 32% and Vietnam at 31%.
“When 77% of APAC is online and digital wallets accounting for roughly 70% of online payments, cybersecurity is no longer optional. The region expects 2.11 billion mobile subscribers by 2030, which makes protecting personal data and financial transactions critical to sustaining trust in the region’s thriving digital economy,” said Choon Hong Chee, head of consumer channel for APAC at Kaspersky.
Mobile threats rise across APAC
Kaspersky said mobile threats are increasing across several APAC markets as consumers rely more heavily on smartphones for financial, social and professional activities.
The company said it blocked nearly 30,000 mobile attacks against consumers in the region during the first three months of 2026. India and Indonesia recorded the highest reported numbers, with 18,187 and 15,163 incidents, respectively.
Kaspersky telemetry also showed year-on-year increases in mobile attacks in Taiwan, at 373%; Sri Lanka, 132%; Thailand, 127%; Bangladesh, 108%; China, 69%; and the Philippines, 28%, comparing the first quarters of 2026 and 2025.
“The rapid rise in mobile attacks across multiple APAC markets is a reflection of how quickly the region’s digital habits are changing. While the nearly 30,000 mobile threats detected in just the first quarter may appear small against the scale of APAC’s digital population, they could represent only the tip of the iceberg. India and Indonesia recorded the highest volumes, but the sharp year-on-year increases seen in Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh show that mobile threats are rapidly expanding beyond the region’s largest digital economies. Unlike PCs, mobile phones are often not protected with the same level of security, despite increasingly becoming the gateway to our financial, social and professional lives. As cybercriminals follow this shift, the challenge is ensuring that mobile security evolves at the same pace as adoption,” Chee said.
Kaspersky said one approach is to integrate security directly into mobile applications rather than relying solely on consumers to install and maintain separate security software.
Its Mobile Security SDK allows banks, retailers, government services and app developers to add security features to their mobile applications, including anti-phishing and malware detection, secure connectivity, device reputation checks, data protection and remote access tool detection.
The company also offers its Who Calls SDK for caller identification and reputation information. Its Safe Web service uses DNS filtering to help identify potentially dangerous websites and links.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
————————————————————————-
TEN YEARS OF TECHSABADO!
PLEASE LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE and SUBSCRIBE to OUR YOUTUBE & SPOTIFY channels.
WATCH TECHSABADO ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
WE ARE ALSO ON SPOTIFY
WATCH OUR OTHER YOUTUBE CHANNELS:
PLEASE LIKE our FACEBOOK PAGE and SUBSCRIBE to OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
