Three out of five respondents in APAC have experienced a cyberattack or online threat with common forms being malware (17%), theft of personal data (13%) and social media breach or duplication (11%).
Only 23% respondents have installed free or paid antivirus/ security app on their mobile devices.
Majority of parents have not spoken to their children about cybersecurity. 32% of parents from Thailand and 25% from Hong Kong said that their children have been exposed to inappropriate content online.
11,200 respondents from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand were surveyed.

SINGAPORE – November 22, 2021 – ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, today released the results from its APAC Consumer Cybersecurity Survey, revealing that three in five (62%) respondents in APAC said they have experienced a cyberattack or online threat in the past 12 months. By analysing consumers’ habits based on previous online interactions, the survey provided a deeper insight on the awareness of basic cybersecurity threats and best practices of actions online. The survey was conducted earlier this year with 11,200 respondents from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

While the pandemic has introduced a new paradigm in the way we live, work, learn, socialize and play, it has also resulted in consumers’ increased reliance on digital technologies and services, which is a major factor for cybercriminals to pursue illegal activities.

“As we continue to navigate challenges from the pandemic, the reliance on digital technology for various aspects of our daily lives will likely spill into the future. Our survey findings suggest that it is now common for internet users to encounter online threats. Therefore, it is critical that consumers are educated about the growing threats, and are aware of the steps they can take to protect themselves as well as their children when conducting online activities,” said Parvinder Walia, President of Asia Pacific and Japan, ESET.

Of the seven APAC markets surveyed, India (81%), Thailand (65%), and Taiwan (63%) had the highest number of respondents who have experienced a cyberattack or online threat. Across the surveyed markets, the most common forms were attributed to malware/virus attacks (17%), theft of personal data (13%), and social media breach or duplication (11%). Only about 23% respondents installed free or paid antivirus/security app on their mobile devices.

 

Figure 1: Respondents were asked if they experienced at least one cyberattack or online threat such as malware attack, theft of personal data and social media breach in the past 12 months

Consumers’ vigilance is critical as online shopping scams are rife
As people are increasingly dependent on the internet to work, communicate, shop and entertain themselves, scammers are also taking advantage of the new normal to lure victims. Around two thirds (67%) of surveyed respondents indicated that they have come across online scams.

Figure 2: The number of respondents who said they came across online scams

The most common types of scams were online shopping (21%), social media (18%), investment (15%). With close to half of surveyed respondents saying that they shop online at least once a month, it is critical for consumers to remain vigilant when engaging in online transactions.

Figure 3: The most common outcomes for online shopping scam victims across APAC

Moreover, more than half of the respondents in APAC trust the security measures by online retailers completely. 45% and 23% of respondents from Thailand and India respectively, also indicated that they would continue shopping at an online retailer even after a data breach, regardless of the security status thereafter.

To protect themselves from scams, consumers should take precautions when shopping online. Fortunately, more than 90% of surveyed respondents take some form of precaution when shopping online, with checking for product/seller reviews being the most popular method of assessing a retailer’s legitimacy across APAC.

Children are vulnerable and need guidance in an increasingly digital world
With the pandemic resulting in a hybrid model of learning, children’s risk exposure via devices and through various online platforms offering services ranging from collaboration, online learning and video streaming to online games and social media is growing. This puts them at greater risk of encountering online threats, and it is important to teach children the essential skills to remain safe while navigating in an online environment.

The survey revealed that 95% of respondents who are parents from Indonesia have never spoken to their children about cybersecurity, and this remains significantly high in the region – over three out of four (77%) respondents across APAC have never spoken to their children about the issue. To ensure that minors are protected in the digital world, parents should have a hand in demonstrating the threats that the online world poses. 32% of parents from Thailand and 25% from Hong Kong also said that their children have been exposed to inappropriate content online.

Figure 4: The number of respondents who said they have never spoken to their children about cybersecurity

Most parents (90%) in APAC did take actions to ensure their children’s online safety. Popular methods include limiting the amount of time their children spend online (31%), using parental control applications (29%) and checking what apps are installed on their children’s devices (24%).

For guides and tips on how to keep kids safe on the internet, please visit ESET’s Safer Kids Online at https://saferkidsonline.eset.com/.

Bratislava, November 10, 2021 – ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has been recognized as a Major Player in two IDC MarketScape reports – the Worldwide Modern Endpoint Security Enterprise 2021 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US48306021, November 2021), and the Worldwide Modern Endpoint Security SMB 2021 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US48304721, November 2021). Together, the reports assess vendors’ endpoint security offerings across the SMB and enterprise markets.

Through a mix of surveys and interviews with market leaders, participants and end users, IDC MarketScape is known for providing in-depth quantitative and qualitative technology market assessments of different vendors’ capabilities. The reports’ assessment criteria focused on two main categories – an organization’s capabilities and its strategies. While the capabilities category focuses on the company’s offerings today, the strategies category looks at how the vendor’s strategy will deliver on what customers need in three to five years’ time.

The two reports focus on the importance of robust modern endpoint security for organizations both small and large. Modern endpoint security products protect personal computing devices from cyberattacks through detect and response mechanisms. One of the two mechanisms, endpoint protection platforms (EPP), reach detection verdicts and initiate responses in real time and autonomously, without human involvement. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) is the second stage of detection and response against cyberattacks that have evaded EPP detection. With EDR, the time to reach detection verdicts and initiate responses can span minutes to days depending on the severity of the threat itself.

In both reports, ESET was noted for reinvesting its profits into software development, core threat research, and threat hunting – the essential areas for advancing its products. ESET was also recognized for its local language support across an expansive base of global customers. ESET’s participation in independent EPP and EDR evaluations and willingness to put its products to the test was highlighted, as well as its broad and natively integrated cross-product platform solutions. Customers also benefit from the in-house threat hunting services and the unique threat data it collects and analyzes. All this has been enabled by ESET’s constant drive for self-improvement throughout its history, robust research, a technology-driven culture and stable leadership.

Pavol Balaj, Segment Director for Enterprises at ESET comments, “We are very proud to be named a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape evaluation of our endpoint solutions. With cyber-attacks being one of the most pertinent threats to modern businesses, at ESET we invest heavily in our people and our technology to deliver solutions that address the constantly evolving threat landscape. We will continue on our path of innovation to ensure the highest possible level of protection for our customers and partners.”

Michal Jankech, Segment Director for SMB and MSP at ESET comments, “Here at ESET, we are committed to protecting businesses of all sizes and equipping them and our MSP partners with cutting edge modern endpoint security. We are proud that our continued investment in our customers and partners, through our ever-improving services and solutions, is recognized externally too.”

To learn more about ESET’s Endpoint Security offering for SMBs, click here, and for Enterprises, click here

BRATISLAVA — October 19, 2021 – Today, global cybersecurity leader ESET launched a new version of its consumer security lineup along with ESET HOME, a platform that allows users to manage the security of all their Windows and Android home devices from one seamless and convenient interface.

With the steady tide of cyberattacks, it is essential that home users remain protected. As smartphones are increasingly at the center of people’s digital lives, empowering users to manage their security via mobile devices is critical. To effectively address home users’ requirements and provide top-level protection ESET is introducing LiveGuard, integrated within ESET Smart Security® Premium. LiveGuard provides an additional proactive layer of protection against never-before-seen types of threats. Additionally, ESET NOD32 Antivirus, ESET Internet Security and ESET Smart Security® Premium offer improved protection and a host of new features for customers. Recognizing how our digital lives have changed over the past year, these upgrades focus on banking and payment protection, ransomware protection, parental control and password management. At the center of the new suite of ESET products is ESET HOME, a new and improved management platform that makes it easy to manage security at home whenever and wherever required. ESET HOME provides users with a complete overview of all their ESET solutions for Windows and Android devices in one place, giving users total visibility of the current protection status of the various devices connected to their accounts. Accessible via web portal and mobile app, the ESET HOME platform is designed with mobile users in mind and built for on-the-go security management. The application enables users to add, manage and share licenses with family and friends, and to manage Anti-Theft, Parental Control and Password Manager via the web portal. Other key updates in the new product suite include:

• Protection improvements — Banking & Payment Protection will now have the option to run by default, protecting any supported browser with a hardened mode. Ransomware Shield has been bolstered with enhanced behavior-based detection techniques. Exploit Blocker has been improved to cover additional malicious techniques.

• ESET HOME — Parents can use ESET HOME to share licenses with family and friends or to monitor their children’s online activity and control their screen time in Parental Control (via the ESET HOME web portal).

• LiveGuard — Integrated with ESET Smart Security® Premium, LiveGuard provides an additional proactive layer of protection against never-before-seen types of threats, shielding users from the malware before its code executes. This service, personalized for each user, analyzes suspicious files, including documents, scripts, installers and executable files, in a safe sandbox environment.

• Password Manager — Available with ESET Smart Security® Premium, Password Manager has been completely redesigned for improved security and ease of use. Password Manager is available in all major browsers as a browser extension and on Android and iOS devices as a native application. New features include support for KeePass and Microsoft Authenticator.

Mária Trnková, consumer & IoT segment director at ESET, commented, “We are incredibly excited about this launch and to provide consumers with the very latest in cybersecurity protection. The updated product suite, including our new LiveGuard feature and the impressive ESET HOME platform puts users firmly in control of their home cybersecurity needs and instills them with the confidence needed to manage multiple devices on the go. After more than a year of being heavily reliant on technology, and with the threat landscape constantly evolving, it is vital to us that our consumer users are protected with cutting-edge solutions that are easily accessible and best in class in terms of user experience.”

To find out more about all the new features and improvements coming in the latest version of our consumer offering, head to https://www.eset.com/hk/.