Cybersecurity issues for the construction industry in Southeast Asia
The construction industry is always one of the main factors that determine the economic development of a country. In Southeast Asia, the industry is on a strong growth path with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) expected to reach 6.2% in the period from 2024 to 2028.
In particular, the construction industry in Indonesia and Vietnam is considered one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the region.
In Vietnam alone, the construction industry is recording optimistic signals with a growth rate of 7.8% - 8.2%. In addition, the application of digital technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation brings many great opportunities, helping to optimize activities in the construction sector. However, this rapid development also comes with many cybersecurity risks.
The latest data from cybersecurity company Kaspersky in the first quarter of 2025 shows that cyber attacks used in industrial control systems (ICS) at construction sites and factories are on the rise. Although most of them have been successfully blocked by the industrial system, this also shows that Southeast Asia is increasingly becoming a target for malware.
Compared to the global average, data in Southeast Asia shows that the rate of ICS computers being attacked by malware in some of the following industries is significantly higher, however, all attacks have been successfully blocked.
For example, in the construction industry, the rate of attacks in Southeast Asia is 1.5 times higher than in the world; the building automation industry is 1.3 times higher; the electricity industry is 1.2 times higher...
In general, Southeast Asia ranks second globally in terms of the rate of harmful subjects detected in ICS computers, with a rate of 29.1%.
Mr. Adrian Hia, Executive Director of Asia - Pacific (APAC) of Kaspersky, said that from 2025 onwards, digital industrial devices could become targets of cyber attacks due to limitations from outdated security measures.
The fact that remote facilities depend on cheap network equipment is a weakness that is easily exploited by bad guys. Therefore, the most urgent goal at present is to update the cybersecurity system for old technologies. Most importantly, businesses need to take cybersecurity seriously.
Recommended solutions
To reduce risks and strengthen defense against ICS threats, cybersecurity experts give the following advice:
- Regularly assess the security of the operating technology system to promptly detect and eliminate network security vulnerabilities.
- Establish a continuous vulnerability assessment and classification process, laying the foundation for effective network security vulnerability management.
- Timely update of key components in the enterprise's operating technology network. Security patches or replacements need to be implemented as soon as possible to prevent serious incidents that disrupt the production process, causing millions of USD in losses.
- Use EDR (end-end threat detection and response system) to promptly detect sophisticated threats, serve the investigation and effectively fix incidents.
- Improve response capacity to new attack techniques by providing in-depth training for IT teams on incident prevention, detection and response.
