How to protect yourself from cyber attacks that exploit Covid-19
May 14, 2020
The current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is changing the business landscape. The most immediate change that has been seen in many countries is the sudden increase in the amount of people working from home. Because of this change, the attack surface has increased significantly, forcing companies to strengthen their cyber security measures to ensure they don’t suffer at the hands of cyber criminals.
However, the increase in the attack surface is not the only cyber threat related to the current global situation.
Malicious campaigns exploiting Covid-19
Our partner researchers constantly search for samples in malicious coronavirus-related campaigns. They have analysed hundreds of malware detections since the lockdown. They’ve broken down several of these campaigns in a study.
Spam using coronavirus as bait
A common tactic amongh cyber attackers is to imitate an official organisation related to public health. In doing so, they hope to increase the likelihood of their victims downloading malicious content or clicking on links. Among the examples of coronavirus-related spam are the following:
A common tactic amongh cyber attackers is to imitate an official organisation related to public health. In doing so, they hope to increase the likelihood of their victims downloading malicious content or clicking on links. Among the examples of coronavirus-related spam are the following:
- “Latest Coronavirus Updates”: This campaign was detected in the UK. The email comes with an attachment in .dat format, supposedly containing the latest news about COVID-19. This file contains a piece of malware.
- “Coronavirus: important information about precautions”: In this case, the campaign targeted users in Italy, a country severely affected by the pandemic. In both the subject and the body of the email is the text “Coronavirus: important information about precautions”. In the body of the email, the sender claims that the attachment is a document prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and strongly recommends that the reader download the compromised Microsoft Word attachment. The malicious file contains a Trojan.
- “Exclusive: Coronavirus Vaccine Detected”: this campaign was spotted in Portugal. It contains a link, supposedly to a page containing more information about the alleged vaccine, but actually contains malware.
Malicious domains related to Coronavirus
Right now, many people are turning to the Internet to try to find answers to the questions they have about the pandemic. Cyber criminals have taken advantage of this situation; our partner researchers detected a notable increase in domain names using the word “corona” combined with words commonly used in Internet searches for the disease, such as “vaccine” or “emergency”. There is a more extensive list in the report, but the following are some noteworthy examples of domain names:
Right now, many people are turning to the Internet to try to find answers to the questions they have about the pandemic. Cyber criminals have taken advantage of this situation; our partner researchers detected a notable increase in domain names using the word “corona” combined with words commonly used in Internet searches for the disease, such as “vaccine” or “emergency”. There is a more extensive list in the report, but the following are some noteworthy examples of domain names:
- acccorona [.] com
- alphacoronavirusvaccine [.] com
- anticoronaproducts [.] com
- beatingcorona [.] com
- beatingcoronavirus [.] com
- byebyecoronavirus [.] com
- cdc-coronavirus [.] com
- contra-coronavirus [.] com
- corona-crisis [.] com
- corona-emergencia [.] com
- coronadetection [.] com
Advanced protection to halt these campaigns
As is the case with any cyber threat, the first line of defense is prevention. To begin with, the most important thing is to educate employees about the risks involved in downloading attachments from unknown senders. It is also important to stress the harm that clicking on links in emails from strangers can do. Another vital measure is good password hygiene: Use complex passwords and change them frequently.
Another essential step in any cyber security plan are advanced solutions. JC Cyber Security Services offer continuous monitoring of all system activity, stopping any unknown process and blocking it until it is analysed and it is determined whether it is legitimate or malicious.
Unfortunately, the cyber attacks and spam campaigns that exploit the current pandemic will most likely continue to try to harm the computer systems of companies and users around the world. Make sure you have the necessary protection with JC Cyber Security.
As is the case with any cyber threat, the first line of defense is prevention. To begin with, the most important thing is to educate employees about the risks involved in downloading attachments from unknown senders. It is also important to stress the harm that clicking on links in emails from strangers can do. Another vital measure is good password hygiene: Use complex passwords and change them frequently.
Another essential step in any cyber security plan are advanced solutions. JC Cyber Security Services offer continuous monitoring of all system activity, stopping any unknown process and blocking it until it is analysed and it is determined whether it is legitimate or malicious.
Unfortunately, the cyber attacks and spam campaigns that exploit the current pandemic will most likely continue to try to harm the computer systems of companies and users around the world. Make sure you have the necessary protection with JC Cyber Security.
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‘Hacking’ refers to activities performed by a threat actor (a ‘hacker’) that seeks to compromise digital services, such as computers, smartphones, and networks. Hackers are usually characterised as only being unlawful, motivated by financial gain, information gathering, or even just for the thrill of having a challenge.
Penetration testing is a form of an ethical hacking simulation conducted in accordance with industry guidelines, which aims to closely mimic real-world targeted attacks that organisations face daily. By actively testing your organisation’s defences, you can understand your security posture while also improving your defences, reducing the likelihood of experiencing a cyber-attack, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability
A penetration test ultimately seeks to answer the question “How effective is my organisation’s security controls against a skilled human hacker?” while determining the security posture of your organisation.