If you think cybersecurity is just a catchphrase, you need to think twice now. It affects everyone who is part of the online world and everything you do online.
Understanding what is happening in the industry, the vulnerabilities, and threats is the best way to stay safe from cyberattacks.
COVID-19 Pandemic Brings More Hacking Attacks
The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought health risks and affected everyone’s normal life as a whole and introduces cybersecurity threats.
According to the recent FBI reports, the number of cyber-attack complaints to their Cyber Division reaches up to 4,000 per day, representing a 400% increase from the regular reports they receive before the pandemic.
Interpol also sees that the increasing and alarming cyber-attack rate is aimed at critical infrastructure, governments, and major corporations. The attacks target businesses of all types. However, critical medical organizations, governments, and large corporations have been the primary targets.
For instance, Microsoft reported that cybercriminals accessed a system through social engineering attacks or phishing, and the COVID-19-themed attacks in the US alone have jumped from 20,000 to 30,000 per day.
What are the Types of Attacks
Since the start of the global health crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has seen that the number of cyberattacks drastically increased. The attacks are directed at WHO staff, while email scams target the public.
Security and technology professionals struggled to respond quickly to the changing environment brought by the pandemic. Cybercriminals took advantage of unprecedented shifts in technology, processes, and people within global companies and governments.
Below are the major cyber attack types that occurred during the pandemic:
Corporate Ransomware Attacks
Cybercriminals hold a network or computer data hostage in a ransomware attack until a ransom is being paid. This attack type has been successful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, Honda reported that their Financial Service and Customer Service divisions had difficulties in June 2020. Later on, the company confirmed that the reason behind it is cyber attacks. In August, the Maze ransomware gang attacked Canon and stole private databases, ten terabytes of data, etc.
COVID1-19 Research and Vaccines
Companies that are essential in preventing the spread and finding the solution for the virus have no exemption in cyber attacks. While these companies are busy and stressed doing everything to stop the pandemic, they become one of the easy targets. After all, they hold valuable data like potential vaccines and other research that other governments or companies would like to access.
For instance, cybersecurity officials from Canada, UK, and the US warned about the APT29 group of hackers that target the Canadian, UK, and US vaccine development and research organizations in July 2020.
Social Media Engineering Hacks
The Twitter hacks were one of the highly-publicized and well-known attacks on social media platforms during the pandemic. In July 2020, someone gained control of several politicians, companies, business executives, and celebrities’ Twitter accounts. That hacker conned lots of people into sending Bitcoins to a particular account.
The said scam netted roughly $117,000. Later, a 17-year old attacker was arrested in Florida.
What are the Latest Hacking that Occurred During the Pandemic
While everyone has been so busy adjusting to the new environment due to the pandemic, cybercriminals are also busy attacking governments, organizations, and individuals. They took advantage of the disrupted environment to perform their attacks.
According to the GajShield Infotech CEO Sonit Jain, roughly 80% of the data breaches were due to brute force cyber attacks. As a result, concerns about data security have skyrocketed. The cyber-attacks are not limited to enterprises with weak data security but also technologically strong companies.
Below are some of the many latest hacking that occurred during the pandemic:
SolarWinds
IT firm SolarWinds was attacked by cybercriminals that even spread to their clients. The attackers secretly broke into the systems. Then, they added malicious codes into the software system.
BigBasket
Indian online grocery BigBasket had faced a data break affecting the data of more than two crore customers. Personal information like IP addresses, full names, and email IDs was compromised and even sold on the dark web.
Zoom
Video conferencing app Zoom was a victim of a cyber attack in April 2020. Personal data like account passwords, HostKeys, and personal meeting URLs were made available for sale on the dark web.
Marriott International
In March 2020, Marriott International faced a data breach that exposed their 5.2 million guests’ data. The said cyber attack was carried by using the two employee’s login credentials on the loyalty application.
5 Twitter Accounts You Should Follow
Many cybercriminals took the pandemic as a great opportunity to attack individuals and businesses, both in scope and frequency. The number of attacks is scary and staggering. These kinds of cyber-attack is not a desirable fact. So, ensure to follow the Twitter accounts and be their real Twitter followers.
1. Maria Markstedter
Maria Markstedter is the founder of Azeria Labs, a reverse engineer, and a security researcher. She is also the 2020 Forbes Person of the Year in Cybersecurity and a trusted leader in cybersecurity. She is also an ARM-based system expert.
2. Zack Whittaker
Besides being TechCrunch editor, Zack Whittaker is also the author of various cybersecurity news. Through his Twitter feeds, people will have an easy and effective way to stay updated with all the cyber world’s latest happenings.
3. Sentinel One
Sentinel One, a group of intelligence and defense experts, was founded to design and develop an approach to protect endpoints. They utilize machine learning and AI to fight both known and unknown cyber threats.
4. Perimeter 81
Launched in 2018, Perimeter 81 offers secure access to cloud infrastructure, local networks, and applications through one unified SASE platform. They simplify the network security for the distributed and modern workforce while helping industries of all sizes to secure their remote employees.
5. SCMagazine
SCMagazine shares industry expert insight, guidance, timely news, and in-depth features in different content forms on information and cybersecurity. They deliver breaking news and other helpful content that tackle various security challenges.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 outbreak has seen a massive rise in people shopping online, being more digitally connected than before, and working from home. During this period, cyber-attacks have also skyrocketed. Due to increased cyber-attack scope and frequency, everyone should stay alert about cybersecurity news.