The number of security incidents hit 1,051 in 2012, up 30% from a year ago, said the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (HKCERT) Tuesday.
According to S C Leung, senior consultant of HKCERT, Web defacement (283 cases) and hacking (426 cases) powered the surge, growing 124% and 29% respectively.
In 2013, the HKCERT expects to see a rise in the number of DDoS attacks and advanced malware. "While new technologies such as Near Field Communications (NFC) on mobile devices and cloud computing offers versatile applications, they may also present new security risks," said Leung.
He advised businesses and the public to guard themselves against an anticipated surge in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeted at SMBs and attacks on smartphones this year.
Apart from issuing guidelines and organizing seminars on security issues, the HKCERT said it will step up services on mobile incidents response and reporting. "We will also strengthen our capability in malware and malicious apps analysis, as well as enhancing our coordination role in combating DDoS attacks and helping the local community to prepare for and respond to these attacks."