Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia in terms of malware risks from USBs

Kaspersky has just released its 2025 report, in which its systems detected and prevented 109,418,783 security threats from on-device threats in Vietnam. This number is down 9.9% compared to 2024, but still affects 48.6% of users in Vietnam and is among the 10 markets with the highest rate in the world.

Threats from internal devices are mostly malicious code distributed via removable storage devices such as USB, external hard drives, CD drives, DVD drives or spread within the internal network. They are computer worms or viruses that infect files and can spread even without an Internet connection.

According to Mr. Ngo Tan Vu Khanh, Country Director of Kaspersky in Vietnam, security threats from internal devices still persist due to subjective psychology, when users tend to let their guard down, trust the devices used in daily work, and only focus on defending against attacks from outside.

“An infected device can become a silent source of infection for the entire system if network monitoring and management capacity is limited,” Mr. Khanh warned.

With a rate of 48.6%, Vietnam is also the market with the highest rate of threats from internal devices in Southeast Asia. The proportion of people affected in the Philippines is 32.4%, Indonesia 31.5%, Thailand 26.8%, Malaysia 25.0% and Singapore 16.4%.

According to Mr. Khanh, security threats from devices in Vietnam also clearly reflect the country’s rapid digital transformation process. As businesses expand connectivity and integrate more devices into operations, the scope and risk of attacks also increases.

“Even though the total number of incidents tends to decrease, the rate of users facing risks is still high. This shows that security capacity and ensuring network security need to keep pace with the speed of digitalization,” Mr. Khanh said.

To reduce the risk of infection via internal devices, Kaspersky recommends that organizations and individuals control endpoint devices, establish stricter usage policies, and equip themselves with a proactive mindset in security defense. They are also recommended to back up data regularly to an external storage source or cloud service; always update software; Use strong authentication and trusted security solutions.