Kaspersky Report: 45% Experience Tech-Enabled Abuse, Majority Unaware
Digital technology, which is intended to simplify life, is increasingly being misused as an instrument for abuse. A recent report from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky reveals a worrying fact: 45.7% of respondents admitted to experiencing at least one form of tech-enabled abuse in the last 12 months.
Ironically, even though nearly half of the respondents became victims, the study found a wide “awareness gap”. Only 32% of people truly understand what the term tech-enabled abuse means. This indicates that many individuals experience digital abuse without realising they are being targeted by criminal actions or unpleasant behaviour.
Tech-enabled abuse refers to negative actions carried out or amplified through digital platforms such as smartphones, social media, and unauthorised monitoring. Because these actions often leave no physical evidence and blend into daily communications, they are frequently regarded as normal or ignored by victims.
Based on data collected from 7,600 respondents across various countries, including Indonesia, the details of the prevalence of these threats are as follows:
One of the most dangerous threats highlighted is stalkerware, software that allows perpetrators to secretly spy on a victim’s private life via mobile devices. Throughout 2024-2025, more than 34,000 users were detected as being affected by this threat across 160 countries, with Russia, Brazil, and India being the most impacted regions.
Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence (DFI) also found that the ecosystem of doxing services is flourishing on dark web forums. Services to uncover an individual’s personal data are offered at prices ranging from the equivalent of $50 to $4,000 (approximately Rp800,000 to Rp65 million).
Dr Leonie Maria Tanczer from UCL Computer Science emphasised that the lack of a common framework makes this problem difficult to measure. “This lack of clarity means many experiences go unmentioned, unreported, and unsupported,” she stated.
As a practical step, Kaspersky will participate in the International Tech Abuse Conference in London from 19–21 May 2026. Through specialised workshops, experts will provide practical guidance for the public to identify and combat increasingly sophisticated cyber-stalking threats.