Mobile cyberattacks against consumers in the Philippines increased by 28% year on year as people across the Asia-Pacific region increasingly relied on smartphones for banking, shopping, payments, and communication, according to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Kaspersky said it blocked nearly 30,000 mobile attacks against Asia Pacific consumers during the first three months of 2026.
Several markets recorded sharp increases, led by Taiwan at 373%, Sri Lanka at 132%, Thailand at 127%, Bangladesh at 108%, China at 69%, and the Philippines at 28%.
The company, however, separately reported 18,187 mobile threats in India and 15,163 in Indonesia. The combined figures exceed the stated regional total of nearly 30,000, an apparent discrepancy that Kaspersky did not explain.
The findings were presented during Kaspersky’s Asia Pacific Cyber Security Weekend in Guangzhou, China.
Kaspersky’s B2C Pulse Survey showed that Asia Pacific consumers were more active online than the global average.
About 80% of regional respondents shopped online, compared with 71% globally, while 72% used digital financial services, against the global average of 70%.
The survey also found that 70% of Asia Pacific respondents used digital entertainment services and 68% relied on digital communication tools, above the global averages of 62% and 61%, respectively.
Concerns about digital crime were also slightly higher in the region, with 35% of Asia Pacific respondents expressing concern, compared with 32% globally. Thailand recorded the highest level of concern at 39%, followed by Malaysia at 38%, Indonesia at 35%, China at 34%, India at 32%, and Vietnam at 31%.
“When 77% of Asia Pacific is online and digital wallets account for roughly 70% of online payments, cybersecurity is no longer optional,” said Choon Hong Chee, Kaspersky’s head of consumer channel for Asia Pacific.
“With an expected 2.11 billion mobile subscribers by 2030, protecting personal data and financial transactions is crucial for maintaining trust in the digital economy.”
Kaspersky urged banks, retailers, and other digital service providers to integrate security controls directly into their mobile applications instead of relying solely on users to install separate cybersecurity software.
The company offers a mobile security software development kit that supports malware and phishing detection, secure connections, and warnings against financial Trojans.
It also provides tools for identifying potentially suspicious calls and blocking malicious or phishing websites through DNS filtering.
