Singapore is world’s No 1 target for banking trojans: Kaspersky

• Lion City has a 94% digital banking penetration rate
• Its tech-savviness and digital banking nous coming back to bite it

SINGAPORE ranks as the top country globally for Kaspersky Lab users being attacked by banking trojans in the second quarter of 2015, the security software company said.
 
According to a study done recently, 496 Kaspersky Lab users in the city-state had sustained such attacks during that period.
 
In the second quarter of 2015, Kaspersky Lab solutions had deflected attempts to launch malware capable of stealing money via online banking on the computers of 755,642 users globally.
 
This is a decrease of 18.7% compared to 735,428 in the previous quarter, the company said in a statement.
 
Switzerland, Brazil and Australia were next in line in the list of top countries respectively. Hong Kong emerged as the fifth country in the list and also as the only other country in the Asia Pacific region.
 
“An A.T. Kearney and Efma global retail banking study concluded that Singapore is the second country worldwide with the highest inclination for digital banking,” said Kaspersky Lab’s South-East Asia channel sales director Jimmy Fong.
 
“The nation was also placed among the top three for banking capabilities, which included innovative technological developments, a robust financial environment and digital infrastructure. Local banks also fare impeccably well in terms of online banking systems, providing cutting-edge features to complement ordinary online banking services.
 
“This paves the way towards equipping banks in Singapore for the next level of digital banking,” he added.
 
Efma is a global retail banking association.
     
With the large number of technologically-savvy consumers, high smartphone penetration rate and strong digital service adoption level, Singapore is one of the South-East Asian countries with the highest digital banking penetration rate, pegged at 94%.
 
Online banking in Singapore was also the second most-utilised service platform after ATMs (automated teller machines), more than conventional branch visits and telephone banking, as a study conducted by Bain & Company found.
 
Kaspersky Lab security solutions had registered a total of 5,903,377 notifications of malicious activity by programmes designed to steal money via online access to bank accounts in the second quarter of 2015.
 
The percentage of Kaspersky Lab product users who encountered this threat during the reporting period in the country were calculated among all product users in the country.
 
This is to evaluate and compare the degree of risk of being infected by banking trojans which user computers are exposed to worldwide. Only countries with more than 10,000 Kaspersky Lab product users were included in this study, the company said.
 
“Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to access vital information that can be monetised, especially when it comes to online banking,” said Vitaly Kamluk (pic), principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research & Analysis Team.
 
“Securing critical data that can cause financial loss is essential for both individuals and businesses.
 
“As the ease of banking becomes more convenient, it is vital that individuals follow best security practices when on the Internet, recognising that they represent a portal or doorway for numerous malicious agents to get into bigger networks and systems, to wreak havoc and cause significant damage for the business they are part of,” he added.
 
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