In Uzbekistan, an unprecedented increase in cybercrime was recorded in 5 years — an increase of 68 times

Uzbekistan has experienced an unprecedented 68-fold increase in cybercrime over the past five years. The data was announced at the specialized forum CyberWeek, held in Samarkand, and caused a wide public and expert response.

The growth of digital attacks coincides with the active digitalization of the economy, the development of online banking and the growth in the number of smartphone users. However, according to experts, the main source of threat is not hackers, but the human factor — what experts call social engineering.

According to Botirjon Shokamolov, Deputy Director for information Security of the Uzcard payment system, most of the crimes occur not because of a technical vulnerability, but because of the users themselves. Fraudsters do not operate through sophisticated attacks on servers, but through psychological methods of persuasion. Calls on behalf of banks, fake links and fake websites that issue online loans in the name of victims are common.

"If a person sends the code from an SMS to an unknown person, no technology can protect them. The main barrier is the user's awareness, " Shokamolov said.

He noted that classic technical attacks are recorded less often than manipulations involving the clients themselves. In fact, scammers do not hack systems, but human trust.

To counter the threat, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Uzcard are conducting a large-scale information campaign covering key regions: Samarkand, Bukhara, Ferghana and Nukus. It is from there, according to the statistics of departments, that the largest number of citizens ' appeals on the facts of cyber fraud are received.

Educational work focuses on the formation of critical thinking and digital hygiene among the population: how to detect phishing, what to do in case of a suspicious call, and how to act in case of personal data theft.

The rapid growth of cybercrime is taking place against the background of a global trend: the digital dependence of the population is expanding, but the level of digital literacy of the population, especially in remote and age groups, is not keeping up with technological changes.

According to experts in the field of information security, in the coming years, the growth of cyber threats in Uzbekistan will continue if systematic measures are not taken — both at the level of technology and at the level of educational policy.

The formation of a sustainable digital immunity of citizens is becoming a task of national importance. The issue already goes beyond IT security and affects the financial stability of households, the reputation of the banking sector and confidence in the digital transformation of the economy.