Every day more than 350,000 new types of malware are unleashed on the internet. The scale of the problem is so massive, it is no longer enough to have traditional anti-virus software, solely defending against known threats.
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The cyber criminals exploiting coronavirus panic
Cyber hackers are preying on the public’s fear of Covid 19 to spread their own harmful viruses.
According to multiple cybersecurity experts, the spike in phishing techniques, fraudulently claiming to come from an official source is the worst in years.
Security firm Barracuda Networks identified 137 coronavirus-related phishing emails in January, 1,188 in February and over 9,000 in March. That equates to a 667 percent increase since the end of February.
Healthcare workers or administrative staff desperately seeking answers to important questions are easy targets for hoax emails that appear to come from a trusted government body such as the Department of Health.
These emails claim to share helpful information about the coronavirus and urge recipients to open an attachment which then downloads malware, infecting computers and gathering personal information.
Examples of scams identified so far
Pandemic panic is catching people off guard
Jake Moore, Cyber security specialist at anti-virus company ESET, insists that the rising fear around the pandemic is playing into the hands of criminals because normally scrupulous individuals are letting their guard down.
He said: “People are falling for these scams in the notion of panic mode. They have limited time to research the background and validation of sites.
“My advice would always be to try and validate any information before acting and never click on links in unsolicited emails and never hand over passwords on sites that are not 100 per cent trusted.”
More than 4,000 coronavirus-related domains have been registered since January and at least 300 are deemed ‘malicious’, according to research firm Check Point.
They found that domains about the virus are 50 per cent more likely to be owned by cybercriminals than other domains registered during the same time period.
Omer Dembinksy, security researcher at Check Point, said fraudulent sites are offering information or test kits in order to gather people’s information or receive payment.
The criminals are getting smarter as well, a study by security company ImmuniWeb found that they were providing real, live information on the pandemic in a bid to spread malware that infects people’s computers.
How to combat coronavirus cyber criminals
The National Cyber Security Centre provides cyber security guidance and support.
Prepare for tomorrow’s threats today
No one could have predicted the coronavirus outbreak, nor its cybersecurity ramifications. But this only means it is more important than ever that organisations and individuals do all they can to prepare for new and evolving threats.
Far too often, healthcare companies wait to suffer a breach or a cyber event before springing into action. By then it’s too late to do any more than clean up the mess.
Smart businesses are already taking steps to ensure they are being proactive. Some are accelerating plans to improve the way they protect data – while others are reconsidering long-standing policies, no longer seen as adequate.
It’s critical that your backups are not permanently on the same network as your live data. If you use the cloud, ensure that your chosen service encrypts data before it leaves your devices – and that it remains encrypted at all times, in transit and in storage.
Ideally you need a solution, that automates the process of securely sending data offsite, keeping your backups isolated from your live environment so they can’t be targeted by hackers or malware authors.
A solution like the one offered by Redstor, guarantees recovery from a ransomware attack by giving you instant access to protected data.
The health and well-being of employees will always remain of paramount importance, but not having access to data, even for a few hours, is of huge concern too as it can cause irreparable damage in the form of lost business, catastrophic fines and reputational damage.
To find out whether your organisation is at risk, read our five-point DR guide to keeping your business in a healthy condition in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak.
From measures to dealing with changing workforce behaviours to updates on best practices, read our coronavirus DR guide on how to keep your organisation healthy.
Watch our product demos to find out more about our solution.
Every day more than 350,000 new types of malware are unleashed on the internet. The scale of the problem is so massive, it is no longer enough to have traditional anti-virus software, solely defending against known threats.
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