So, these are scary times, but unfortunately there is more to worry about than just a global pandemic, several news channels stated “new warning from FBI about corona virus scams” “stealing sensitive personal information” “it can affect your computer”.
Anytime there is a global event, hackers tend to weaponize it, weather it is the Olympics or election, hackers seize the opportunities to leverage the situation against the users. Our emails are filled with thousands of spam mails, all they need is a click to the link that they provided, or download a file that they have attached, and they will be directed to your computer or laptop or mobile phones in no time. It is working that is why hackers continue to use it. Don’t click a link, don’t open a attachment just DELETE IT. But for many it’s easier said than done. Phishing emails have quadrupled since the corona virus outbreak it’s gotten so bad that U.K and USA have issued the joined warnings about these schemes. Mr Ben Read, the senior manager of cyber espionage analysis of Fire eye stated “A successful phishing campaign, it had to be interesting and look reliable but they also want to grab people’s attention, to say some latest news on corona virus updates with a pdf file attached to it, and at this situation people are also very hungry for new information, any news or statement on corona virus really fits in to their ideas.
The idea behind these schemes is that in the times of crisis or uncertainty or fear people let their guards down, in cases where something is promised, maybe people are distracted not as focus on who might be sending anything or in case where hackers are promising of information, people are more likely to click on it without giving it a second thought where could it be coming from. On top of the fear based COVID-19 schemes, hackers have seized on one of their tried and true lures “money”. The prospect of a payout from the 2 trillion dollars stimulus package in the U.S. comes with the subject line saying COVID-19 payment, so again DELETE IT. So it is important to understand who these hackers are. And despite all the stock footage ever made about hackers they are not necessarily some Shady dude in a hoodie these are the folks that are out for to make a sort of quick money. Some of these make hundreds of millions of dollars in a year. They all probably have some sort of investment to use the money to invest and grow their capabilities. Cyber security data suggest many of these hacking operations are backed by the major nation-states. We have seen multiple state-sponsored cyber espionage actors who use corona virus as a lure. We have seen North Korea, China and Russia, all employ it to try to compromise their victims. it doesn’t only stop at spam mails, fake websites social media accounts are spreading disinformation about the corona virus and also they stay swarms of bots on social media platforms that are doing the work of amplifying or spreading messages that are false related to the pandemic that back the interest countries like China.
And unfortunately it’s kind of gets worse because Hospital the medical institutions are a favorite target for hackers. Most common thing they do is that they hit a target with ransom ware, which is an attack that uses Malware that encrypt or lock down data belonging to an organisation. And they’ll change a ransom for the dis-encryption of that data. There is increased targeting on medical facilities, hospital, testing centers, primary care physician because they are so dire, so desperate to keep their operations up, if they shut down, there are lives at stake. Always be on the lookout to communication that you don’t normally get, always double check who the sender is from, making sure they are exactly who you’re expecting before downloading a file, clicking on a link.