PETALING JAYA: Data from 52 million Internet accounts of Malaysians has been compromised since 2004, says cybersecurity company Surfshark.

The Netherlands-based company said this figure involved 15.4 million unique email addresses, with each email data breached an average of three times over the past two decades.

“On a regional scale in Asia, 55 accounts are breached per 100 people on average.

“But in Malaysia, this number goes up to 152 per 100 people. Statistically speaking, the average Malaysian has been affected by data breaches around two times,” said Surfshark researcher Kasparas Jucaitis in a statement.

The company noted that alongside the compromised accounts, 33.3 million passwords were leaked, exposing 64% of affected users to identity theft, extortion or other cybercrimes.

Surfshark’s findings also revealed a decrease in the total number of breached accounts in Malaysia compared to the previous quarter in 2024.

The company ranked Malaysia fourth in South-East Asia and 31st globally for the most breached accounts.

It also highlighted a significant spike in data breaches in Malaysia in 2020, which remains the highest number according to the findings.

The period, which coincided with the implementation of the movement control order due to the spread of Covid-19, saw a surge from 883,166 breaches in the first quarter to more than 3.2 million in the following quarter of that year.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/23/average-msian-has-been-hacked-twice