Cybersecurity threats jump in Hong Kong, as victims lose money to scammers, survey finds
Scams are the most common online threat in Hong Kong, causing lost money or time for nearly two thirds of the victims, a new report says
Online threats have surged in Hong Kong this year, with scams, phishing and malware among the most common attacks, a survey found, as a lack of cybersecurity awareness continues to plague the city.
Forty-nine per cent of Hong Kong respondents have experienced online threats over the past 12 months, compared with 40 per cent in the previous period, according to a recent report by antivirus software vendor Norton.
Scams were the most common online threat, affecting 34 per cent of respondents to the survey. Nearly two-thirds of the victims lost money or time as a result. The next most prevalent threats, phishing and malware, each affected 28 per cent of the respondents, according to the US firm, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed software company Gen Digital.
Hong Kong police said in July that financial losses resulting from online scams jumped 37 per cent year on year in the first five months of 2024, even though the number of incidents rose less than 1 per cent.
