Detailed Academic Study of Five Southeast Asian Countries Clearly Demonstrates Close Correlation Between Piracy Sites and Malware Infection

Image: Shutterstock

You won’t get a message like this announcing you’ve just downloaded malware. Instead, you will find out when unauthorized payments start showing up on your credit card statement, or worse, you find that your bank account has been drained or you’ve received a ransomware threat, suddenly locked out of your accounts. No one knowingly downloads malware, but it is a proven byproduct of content piracy. Although a global threat, malware penetration is particularly problematic for emerging economies, like those in Southeast Asia working to build viable local content industries and creating safe digital platforms to grow their economy. A recently released study (“Consumer Risk from Piracy in Southeast Asia”) authored by Macquarie University professor Dr. Paul Watters, concludes that the risk of downloading malware in the form of trojans, worms or keyloggers, ransomware and cryptojacking, phishing and credential theft, spyware, data exfiltration and network compromise is up to sixty-five times higher when using piracy versus legitimate sites.

Watters examined the prevalence of malware downloading and piracy in five Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malayia, Thailand and Singapore. He examined various types of piracy sites, including illicit streaming, streaming sports piracy, P2P networks, scam piracy sites (sites masquerading as providers of legal services or content), IPTV piracy subscription services, as well as anime and manga piracy sites. The relative cyber risk per piracy service type in the five countries studied in 2025 ranged from a high of sixty-five times the risk of using legitimate services for P2P networks to figures in the low to high thirties for streaming and IPTV services to fourteen percent for manga sites. (see table below).

Watters points out that, “Digital piracy in Southeast Asia extends far beyond lost revenues, reshaping cultural norms, creative ecosystems and regional economies.”  While there are economic motivations for piracy, such as unwillingness to pay for content that can be obtained for “free”, social consensus (where piracy is normalized within a community) significantly influences individuals’ intentions to engage in piracy. Social and cultural norms rather than differences in legal frameworks, copyright tradition, or economic factors have been shown to be the most powerful predictors of piracy behaviour among students. These unhealthy trends, once normalized, undermine the basis for building a stable digital economy where business models are based on the normal expectation of receiving a reasonable return on investment for products or services provided. Also, in the case of Southeast Asian countries, they pose a long-term threat to the preservation and projection of regional cultures. If local content producers cannot receive fair compensation for their investment in production, there is less incentive to produce content based on local cultural heritage. And it is not just local cultural industries that suffer. The diversion of revenues away from legitimate businesses affects government revenues, having an impact on the full range of services offered to citizens by governments, while undermining government efforts to build a trusted digital economy so essential to SMEs and others.

While the figures documenting cyberthreats are startling and should give users of piracy sites pause to weigh the consequences of accessing “free” content, it is also incumbent on governments to take requisite action to dissuade their citizens from indulging their own worst instincts. Watters’ study highlights some of the measures that Southeast Asian governments are already engaged in, such as implementing comprehensive national cybersecurity strategies. All the countries in the region have criminalized unauthorized access, malware distribution and online fraud and have engaged in education and international cooperation. However, this is clearly not adequate in dealing with the significant problem of malware penetration.

Watters suggests a number of additional actions that could be taken, depending on the specific risk factors by country. These include revisiting domain-blocking frameworks to incorporate dynamic copyright-based site blocking injunctions updated in real time rather than relying on static “blacklists” (the pirates are nimble and often manage to stay one step ahead of the blocking process). There are specific recommendations for actions by ISPs and enterprise network operators. There is also the suggestion that regulators introduce minimum security standards for consumer electronics to combat the risk presented by Illicit Streaming Devices (ISDs) and user-installed P2P/streaming clients.

It is clear from Watters’ report that more needs to be done by Southeast Asian governments to protect consumers and reduce their exposure to the elevated cyber risk from accessing piracy platforms, a risk thoroughly and professionally documented in this study. The need is urgent, based not only on the demonstrated level of malware penetration through piracy sites but also the long-term negative impact such risks have on individual consumers. A corollary benefit is that combatting patronage of piracy sites will have a positive impact on generation of local cultural content and build out of digital industries, while strengthening the legitimate economy and government revenues.

As has been proven elsewhere, a comprehensive anti-piracy program focusing on dynamic copyright-based site blocking (with appropriate transparency and redress mechanisms), strengthened law enforcement expertise in combatting cyber-crime, and continued education and public awareness campaigns tailored to local conditions will enable governments in Southeast Asia to turn the tide on cyber security threats while at the same time enjoying the many economic and cultural benefits of reduced piracy among their citizens.

Southeast Asian consumers are entitled to expect that when they engage on the Internet, they can do so safely without fearing the consequences of malware attacks. While they need to take some responsibility for their own actions, it is incumbent on their governments to create a safe space through adequate regulation and enforcement. Professor Watters’ study provides not only a detailed analysis of what is happening with respect to consumer risks from piracy, but a roadmap of how to effectively deal with the problem.

© Hugh Stephens, 2025. All Rights Reserved.

This article was originally published on Hugh Stephens Blog