Since the start of the pandemic, cybercriminals have feasted on the end-users lack of awareness, not only about the pandemic itself but about cybersecurity as well. And now with the start of the New Year, COVID-19 themed cyberattacks are turning their focus towards big corporations, governments, and critical infrastructure.
The Observations –
The recent attacks include manipulation of stolen documents along with hacking attacks, in order to raise doubts over the vaccine and the way EMA works.
- It was recently disclosed by the European Medical Agency, emails and documents related to the evaluation of experimental COVID-19 vaccines were manipulated by the threat actors before they were leaked online.
- Late last year, some of the COVID-19 documents submitted to EMA by Pfizer and BioNTech were leaked online by the attackers after the EMA was subjected to a cyberattack.
The major sectors that are affected by the corona themed attacks have been healthcare, government, and financial services. While geographically, North America, South-east Asia, and Europe were amongst the most affected regions.
Its Raining Cyber-Attacks –
- Earlier this month, numerous websites belonging to government departments, including national health and welfare agencies, were leaking thousands of patients’ COVID-19 lab test results online.
- Scammers also used social engineering emails and messaging apps to lure victims with fake claims that they can deliver COVID-19 shots within days for a price tag of $150.
- In the state of Colorado, in the US, Pitkin county became aware of potential unauthorized access to a file including information regarding COVID-19 case investigations and contact tracing.
It is highly likely that cybercriminals will continue to use coronavirus as a theme for their attacks, preying on the fear of the masses with regards to the pandemic. Therefore, our internal experts suggest organizations encrypt sensitive data, segregate networks, provide training to identify phishing emails, and stay alert while surfing online.
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