Survey shows APAC unprepared to mitigate online threats

Akamai says APAC businesses are unprepared in deploying specialized protective technologies compared to other global regions.

A report from Akamai – From Bad Bots to Malicious Scripts: The Effectiveness of Specialized Defenses – surveyed key IT and security professionals to assess the prevalence and effectiveness of specialized third-party solutions that combat the challenges of malicious bots, account takeover (ATO), third party scripts and audience hijacking.

Findings include:

• The APAC account takeover threat environment is high in APJ 73% of businesses saying they had been attacked in the previous 12 months

• APAC has the lowest rate of deployment for solutions to tackle account takeover threats – 60% percent compared to 83% percent globally

• Only 67% of APAC businesses are using specialized script protection solutions, well below the 85% global average – with 78% of APAC businesses saying they have been targeted by malicious scripts in the past 12 months

• Sixty-four per cent of APAC businesses experienced bot attacks in the previous 12 months compared to 75% overall

• Almost all (92%) of APAC organizations are aware of audience hijacking, while 26% have been affected by it.

“Malicious bots, scripts, and account takeover attacks are pervasive and will continue to pose ever greater challenges for businesses,” said Reuben Koh, Director of Security Technology and Strategy, Akamai.

“Adopting third-party specialized defenses not only help organizations to adapt but also address the ever-changing attack techniques employed by cyber criminals.”