Terrorism in Southeast Asia has long been a threat. Previously, the spectre of terrorism haunted the region via threats of physical violence, from bombings to kidnappings. However, in the current internet age, terrorism has found new methods to attack its targets. Cyberterrorism in the region has been a growing concern and experts have called out the region’s slow response to it.At the moment, Southeast Asian countries are lagging behind when it comes to cybersecurity.

In March this year, the world was rocked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Terrorism in Southeast Asia has long been a threat. Previously, the spectre of terrorism haunted the region via threats of physical violence, from bombings to kidnappings. However, in the current internet age, terrorism has found new methods to attack its targets. Cyberterrorism in the region has been a growing concern and experts have called out the region’s slow response to it. At the moment, Southeast Asian countries are lagging behind when it comes to cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity firm FireEye made Malaysian businesses anxious when it warned they could be the next targets of state-sponsored hackers. The new Malaysian government’s unfavourable stance towards China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects may attract the attention of cyber espionage hackers.FireEye said in a statement that its analysts observed a pattern of targeting by China-based groups and others against organisations with links to the BRI.

Singapore’s banks should watch the fallout from the island’s healthcare-data breach. This could get ugly for them.The National Electronic Health Record project is taking a pause after hackers stole data on 1.5 million patients including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who was “specifically and repeatedly” targeted.

Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law could force Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. to choose between access to one of Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies and protecting their users’ privacy.The law, which goes into effect 1 January, 2019 after the National Assembly passed it this month, requires foreign internet companies to store data within the country and open local offices.

Vietnamese lawmakers have just passed a cybersecurity bill which would allow the government there to essentially censor the internet. The bill which was passed with an overwhelming majority by Vietnam’s rubber stamp parliament has come under fire from many quarters.