Kaspersky Reveals Shifting Threat Landscape for 2024

Kaspersky experts discussed the evolution of the cyber threat landscape in the region during its 9^th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The focal point of the discussions was the security of emerging technology trends such as AI, that are influencing the scale of modern threats. In parallel, threats targeting industrial control systems within critical infrastructure, in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia were also discussed.
Kaspersky’s Cyber Immunity approach took centre stage as a way to create solutions that are virtually impossible to compromise and that minimize the number of potential vulnerabilities.

When looking at the threat landscape in Bahrain, Kaspersky’s telemetry showed the number of overall cyber threats in the country increased by 59% in 2023 as compared to 2022. Dissecting the threat landscape in Bahrain further, Kaspersky experts saw attacks using exploits rose by 65%, such attacks take advantage of a particular vulnerability in a system. Researchers also reported an increase of 75% in trojan attacks that disguise themselves as legitimate computer programs but are used to run malicious code by cybercriminals.  In addition, ransomware attacks designed to encrypt a victim’s data, files, or system, making them accessible in exchange for a payment, increased by 50% in Bahrain.

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According to Kaspersky’s analysis, online threats caused by vulnerabilities on web pages, in emails or in web services, have fluctuated significantly in the region. Turkiye saw the highest number of users affected by online threats (41.8%), followed by Kenya (39.2%), Qatar (38.8) and South Africa (35%). Fewer users were affected in Oman (23.4%) and Egypt (27.4%) followed by Saudi Arabia (29.9%) and Kuwait (30.8%).

“As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, cyber threats continue to become diverse and sophisticated. This trend is particularly evident due to the emergence of advanced technologies like AI and the escalating geopolitical and economic turbulence within the META region. These factors collectively contribute to the surge in cybercrime and the heightened complexity of cyberattacks.”, comments Amin Hasbini, Director of META Research Centre Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT)