Coronavirus Malware: Cyber Threats Rising
Malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and social engineering strategies as cyber threats have been rising since the outbreak of COVID-19. The digital landscape has changed, as people are moving more of their lives online. With this move, bad actors are also evolving with new and complex cybercrime methods. It is helpful to know what these attacks look like to best find ways to prevent and thwart them. Defending against cyber threats during the pandemic requires a multifaceted approach with good cyber hygiene and security practices to prevent, block, and stop attacks.
Cyberattacks on the rise during the pandemic
There has been a 400 per cent spike in cybersecurity complaints to the FBI since before the pandemic, rising to nearly 4,000 complaints per day compared to around 1,000 daily complaints before the coronavirus outbreak. Whenever there is uncertainty in the world, criminals take note and look for ways to exploit potential weaknesses due to people’s anxiety and shifting online trends. With the pandemic comes heightened anxiety, which has increased the range and number of cyberattacks and the success of these attacks. More and more people are working from home, which can create network insecurities and increased cyber vulnerabilities. Additionally, people are banking, shopping, and doing more of their business online. This means they are putting more financial and personal information in digital forms, making it vulnerable to hackers and cyberattacks. Evolving cyber threats during the pandemic are targeting healthcare organisations, financial services, retail operations, and public administrations. Fraudsters are also preying on fear and using fake coronavirus emails and websites to perpetuate cybercrime.
Evolution of threats due to coronavirus
As officials have shifted their attention to the public health crisis,