Hong Kong police step up cybersecurity campaign as hackers steal HK$147 million – a 16-fold rise – from victims in year
- Police recorded 47 hacking cases last year compared with 37 incidents and HK$9.1 million lost in 2017
- Hacked devices included mobile phones, tablets and computers
Hong Kong police have teamed up with five cybersecurity companies to offer free tools for smart device users to scan for and remove viruses as hackers stole HK$147 million (US$18.8 million), a 16-fold increase, from victims last year.
There were six cases in the first two months this year, resulting in losses of HK$200,000 in total.
Chief Inspector Rachel Hui Yee-wai from the force’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau said applications downloaded from official app stores might also carry viruses which allowed hackers to control a device remotely.
Culprits could then open a browser on the device and draw the user to a phishing website, deceiving the victim into entering personal information such as bank account password or credit card verification number, Hui added.
“Overseas cases showed that some hackers also pretended to be bank employees asking a victim to download a remote control app,” Hui said. “They then lured their victim to hand over ID and authorisation to take control of the device or observe on-screen movements. It meant the hackers could get every piece of information the victim entered including, for example, on an e-banking app.”
