Kaspersky reports millions of web and local threats in South Korea in Q3

In the third quarter of this year, cyberthreats delivered via the internet and local threats found on computers or in removable storage devices were each detected in the millions in Korea.

Cybersecurity corporations Kaspersky released its "Korea security threat report for Q3 2026" on the 15th, saying it detected 1,290,844 web-based threats and 3,155,127 local threats on the computers of Korea-based participants in the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) from July to Sept.

Web-based threats refer to attacks in which malware enters through the internet. A representative method is the "drive-by download," which exploits vulnerabilities in browsers or plugins. Users can be infected with malware without any additional action simply by visiting a malicious website.

Local threats include malicious files stored on a computer and malware that enters through removable storage devices such as USBs and CDs/DVDs. Worms and file viruses are representative examples, and infections can spread even in environments not connected to the internet.

Albania had the highest of users hit by web-based threats at 26.9%. It was followed by Bangladesh (23.9%), New Zealand (19.9%), Nepal (19.7%), and Slovakia (19.6%).

For local threats, Turkmenistan was highest at 54.4%, followed by China (40.6%), Burundi (38.6%), Afghanistan (38.1%), and Tajikistan (37.3%).

Kaspersky said that to counter these threats, users should employ not only antivirus programs that detect and remove malware but also firewalls, anti-rootkits, and removable device control features.