Cyber virus causes losses of US$1 billion to Vietnam in 2020

Vietnamese internet users last year suffered a loss of of VND23.9 trillion (US$1 billion) due to cyber virus, Bkav Technology Group reported following a study which was carried out in December, 2020.

The group's report focused on cyber security last year and forecasts for 2021.

According to Bkav’s statistics, cyber attacks are typically attempts by cyber-criminals to access, alter, or damage the target’s computer system or network, which can result in down-time for sites and apps, and theft of funds and data.

Averagely, Bkav system monthly detects over 15,000 spywares installed in smartphones. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

The number of cyber attacks on financial service providers, particularly banking, is seen increasing. In 2020 alone, hundreds of billions of dong were appropriated by breaching banking cybersecurity. The thief mostly hacked bank users’ one-time password (OTP) security. Averagely, Bkav system monthly detects over 15,000 spywares installed in smartphones.

Due the Covid-19 pandemic, many organization and enterprise employees turned to working from home, using internet-connected system that was prone to cyber attack and information stealth.

Occurrence of W32

Fileless malwave in 2020 was exactly as Bkav experts’ prediction with at least 800,000 computers infected with W32, doubling against 2019.

Fraudulent smartphone transactions are predicted to continue in 2021. Additionally, Facebook fraud will increase as countries have limited travel, resulting in huge cyber transactions, which can induce cybercriminals to take advantage of the situation to deceive people.

Stealth malware, encryption malware data, spyware that tracks users and steals information are predicted to be raging this year.

To prevent and combat stealthy malware, Bkav recommends users to choose anti-virus software which is capable of detecting viruses through controlling abnormal activities on computers to find and remove the hidden viruses.