Singapore Witnessed a Surge in Ransomware Attacks During 2019

A report from the Cyber ​​Security Agency of Singapore, or CSA, shows that the number of ransomware attacks cases rose in 2019, compared to figures recorded in 2018.

According to a “Cyber ​​Landscape 2019” study published by the Singaporean government, the entity received 35 reports of ransomware incidents in 2019. This represents a surge compared to the 21 cases that reported in 2018.

Most of the attacks targeted the travel, tourism, manufacturing, and logistics industries.

Phishing attacks also rose in 2019

Phishing cases also saw a sharp increase. The agency discovered 47,500 related URLs in 2019 — up from 16,100 URLs in 2018.

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, or ICA, Ministry of Manpower, or MOM, and Singapore Police Force, or SPF, were the most commonly spoofed government organizations.

Cybercrimes represent 26% of all crimes in Singapore

The Singapore Police Force, or SPF, reported that cybercrime continued to rise, with 9,430 cases reported in 2019, up from 6,215 cases in 2018. This accounted for more than one-quarter of all crimes in Singapore in 2019.

A study by cybersecurity vendor, Cyfirma, warned of a massive phishing campaign launched by the North Korean hacker group, Lazarus. This attack has allegedly targeted several countries, including Singapore.

Data published by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky also indicated that Singapore had seen a significant increase in the prevalence of attempted cryptojackings during the first quarter of 2020.