Hanoi: 1 hour. That’s how long it takes to build malicious software that can access almost everything: your camera, messages, calls, storage, microphone, location, contacts, and more. on the victim’s phone.
And cyber threat hunter Ngo Minh Hieu discovered in his work at Vietnam’s National Cyber Security Center that more than 500,000 such malware apps are created every day.
Online fraud in Vietnam increased by 64% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the country’s Information Security Agency.
The number of malware-related incidents has increased over the past five years, said Nguyen Quang Dong, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development.
A spate of fraud moves Vietnam into the world’s top 10 cybercrime hotspots According to the Global Tech Councila program that Talking Point discovered while investigating who may be behind a malware scam that occurred in Singapore this year.
Ex-con turned cyber threat hunter
According to police, more than 1,400 victims in Singapore lost a total of at least S$20.6 million between January and August.
Mr Ang Hua Huang, assistant superintendent of the Singapore Police Force’s new Anti-Fraud Command Center, said perpetrators involved in malware scams were primarily acting as money mules.
Some teenagers have also been arrested on suspicion of being involved.
Attention: Who is behind the malware scam? (21:58)