The COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay, and it has altered our lives dramatically. We now require more information than ever before due to increased uncertainties and worries. But how trustworthy is all of this data? Are we sure we’re getting the correct information?
Cyber criminals are seizing control and capitalising on our desire for information, manipulating our fears and scepticism to target businesses and individuals in a variety of ways.
The Brno Hospital University in the Czech Republic, which is one of the country’s key COVID-19 testing centres, was assaulted and had to turn away patients with severe virus symptoms.
They were also forced to postpone surgery owing to a cyber-attack that prevented them from accessing their systems. In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) discovered a complicated cyber-attack on their system.
What should you be on the lookout for?
COVID-19 is being used as bait in a number of “campaigns.” Some instances are as follows:
- Emails containing CO-VID19 information with malicious document attachments that run malicious code by exploiting a known vulnerability.
- Phishing emails containing COVID-19-related macro-enabled Microsoft Word documents containing health information, leading to the download of Emotet or Trickbot malware.
- Phishing emails purporting to be from various government health institutions or the World Health Organizations contain embedded malware as cautious measures.
Security vulnerabilities in everyday critical applications, such as Zoom, have been a prevalent challenge as firms closed their offices and remote working became a common method.
This pandemic has resulted in a number of major privacy concerns. Society is becoming increasingly reliant on technology as our desire to track the infection develops. Instead of human contacts, a mobile application is more cost effective and secure, but it comes at a cost.
Many cyber attackers are now using CO-VID19-related information on health updates, fake treatments, fiscal packages, emergency perks, and supply constraints, according to KPMG.
However, there are several telltale signs that an email is suspicious. The email could have grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors, have an unusual or surprising style and quality, and not address you by name (instead using words like ‘Dear colleague,’ ‘Dear friend,’ or ‘Dear customer’).