Singapore moves on from Windows 7, mostly
Singapore moves on from Windows 7, mostly
At least, compared to the rest of the world.
Globally, 22 per cent of PC users continue to run the outdated Windows 7 operating system, but not in Singapore, where just 16 per cent of consumers and only 9.6 per cent of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) use the OS, according to cyber security firm Kaspersky.
Microsoft ended Windows 7 support on 14 January 2020 as the 10-year period for which it promised to provide support for the operating system, which was released in October 2009, came to an end.
The move to cease support meant that technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect PCs were no longer available for the product.
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Ransomware targeting Asean SMEs drops
But threats have become more targeted and malicious, according to security specialist Kaspersky
published : 4 May 2021 at 04:00
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The global cybersecurity company Kaspersky has reported a significant decrease in the number of ransomware attempts it detected and foiled last year among small and medium enterprise (SME) users in Southeast Asia.
The company monitored 804,513 ransomware events in 2020, down 58% from the 2019 total of 1.9 million, according to the latest Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) report.
Among the six Southeast Asian economies surveyed, only Singapore observed an uptick in ransomware detections, to 3,191 from 2,275 the year before.
Although Indonesia still ranked fifth globally for the volume of ransomware detections, the total fell sharply to 439,473 from 1.15 million in 2019. A similar trend was observed elsewhere in the region including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.
Almost a quarter of users are still running a Windows OS without mainstream support: Survey
May 03, 2021
24% of users are still running a Windows OS without mainstream support Almost a quarter of users are still running a Windows operating system (OS) without mainstream support, according to a study by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Kaspersky conducted a study based on anonymized OS metadata provided by consenting Kaspersky Security Network users.
According to the survey, 22 per cent of PC users are still using the end-of-life OS Windows 7. Official support for Microsoft Windows 7 ended in January 2020.
When an OS comes to the end of its lifecycle, the vendor stops providing updates for the OS including critical security fixes.
Among the six SEA countries, only Singapore observed an uptick in the number of ransomware detections.
There was a slight increase from 2,275 instances in 2019 that jumped to 3,191 in 2020.
Although Indonesia still ranked fifth globally for the volume of its ransomware detections, its 1,158,837 detections are now down to 439,473.
The trend of decreased ransomware incidents was observed across other countries in the region including Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.
China remains at the top spot in terms of ransomware detections globally both for 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, Brazil and Russia switched places for the second and third spots, with Brazil being second globally in 2020.