Singapore – A significant threefold decrease in cyber threats was noted amongst government and development sectors last year, noting a decline in high-severity incidents involving direct human participation. This is according to the latest Managed Detection and Response (MDR) analyst report of cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Findings also reported the mass media, development and telecoms industries experienced a significant increase in the number of incidents as compared to 2023. However, when it comes to high-severity incidents that involve direct human involvement, a notable difference was observed.
In particular, MDR’s 2024 data showed that IT led with 23% of these cases, while government and industrial sectors each accounted for 18%.
Kaspersky also found a significant uptick in incidents in the industrial sector, with minor increases in retail, IT, and telecoms. Meanwhile, a notable decrease in high-severity incidents within the government and development sectors was reported, and the number of such incidents in the food sector increased.
Interestingly, although the mass media sector experienced a major surge in total incidents, high-severity cases did not rise accordingly. These incidents implied that proactive detection and mitigation efforts successfully contained potential threats before they could escalate.
Speaking about the report, Sergey Soldatov, head of security operations centre at Kaspersky, said, “In 2024, we revealed a shift in the landscape of cyber threats, with high-severity incidents increasingly concentrated in the food sector, underscoring the necessity for cybersecurity measures in this area. While the overall number of incidents surged in sectors like telecom and mass media, the resilience demonstrated in swiftly detecting and neutralising potential threats highlights the importance of proactive measures.”
“As attackers refine their tactics, organisations must adapt by investing in robust cybersecurity solutions that combine advanced technologies with expert oversight,” he added.
Drawing from these incidents, the company advised businesses to implement robust cybersecurity solutions and hire qualified practitioners to manage them or adopt managed security services such as Managed Detection and Response and Incident Response.
Said move will help them bolster their protection against cyber threats, offering services such as complete incident management cycle from threat identification to continuous protection and remediation.
