This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 8, 2024 - April 14, 2024

Qrator Labs, a provider of distributed denial-of-service (DdoS) attack mitigation services, found that in 1Q2023, cyberattacks grew by 22% compared to the previous quarter. In addition, searches for cyber defence solutions doubled during Ramadan.

The recent research underscores a concerning trend of escalating cyberattacks during this period. The most attacked segments were classifieds (26.7%), digital education (13.3%), payment systems (11.5%), banks (9.3%) and game servers (5.2%). This trend is likely to be along a similar line this year.

Qrator Labs adds that bot activity on e-commerce websites also increases during holiday sales periods. Bots are autonomous virtual programmes that operate as programmes or user agents or are created to simulate human activity. On average, their activity rises by 45% during the holy month.

It found that bots are more likely to enter retail sites under a unified client account and register new accounts en masse for sites offering bonus programmes. They also operate within a customer’s basket, steal accounts with active bonus programmes and change customer details like their delivery address.

Qrator Labs warns that bot attacks can distort key business metrics, subvert marketing campaigns across websites and mobile applications, and lead to slow site operation or unavailability.

Malicious activity increases due to higher spending during Ramadan, says Victor Zyamzin, the global head of business development at Qrator Labs. For instance, the overall technical consumer goods market in the United Arab Emirates witnessed an 8% uplift in March and April last year compared to the other non-sale periods.

This tendency is observed in other Muslim-majority countries too. For instance, in the first two weeks of Ramadan in 2023, retail sales across Southeast Asia rose by 47%. Malaysia saw the highest average spike, by 40%, in sales. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Singapore experienced a 30% and 16% increase, respectively.

Shopping activity also increases before Eid al-Fitr, the two official holidays that mark the end of the month of Ramadan. Although there are differences in celebrations around the world, there is one extremely popular tradition: gift-giving. A study by Facebook shows that the days before Eid are the “single biggest 10-day shopping period”.

To protect against cyber threats during Ramadan, Zyamzin recommends businesses make proactive behavioural analyses, use security services and implement predictive algorithms to stop bots.

Ordinary users can also enhance the security of their accounts by changing their passwords regularly, using different passwords for e-commerce websites, setting up two-factor authentication and regularly verifying account logins through their devices.

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