Alarming rate of cyber attacks during pandemic

An INTERPOL assessment of the impact of coronavirus on cyber crime has shown a significant target shift from individuals and small businesses to major corporations, governments and critical infrastructure.

With organisations and businesses increasingly deploying remote systems and networks to support staff working from home, INTERPOL says that criminals are also taking advantage of increased security vulnerabilities to steal data, generate profits and cause disruption.

In the four-month period from January to April, some 907,000 spam messages, 737 incidents related to malware and 48,000 malicious URLs – all related to coronavirus – were detected by one of INTERPOL’s private sector partners.

Among the key findings highlighted by the assessment, the inter-governmental organisation said that around two-thirds of member countries which responded to the global cyber crime survey reported a significant use of coronavirus themes for phishing and online fraud since the outbreak. Furthermore, cyber criminals are increasingly using disruptive malware against critical infrastructure and healthcare institutions, due to the potential for high impact and financial benefit.

The deployment of data harvesting malware such as Remote Access Trojan, info stealers, spyware and banking Trojans by cyber criminals is on the rise. Using coronavirus related information as a lure, threat actors infiltrate systems to compromise networks, steal data, divert money and build botnets.

Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General, said: “Cyber criminals are developing and boosting their attacks at an alarming pace, exploiting the fear and uncertainty caused by the unstable social and economic situation created by Covid-19. The increased online dependency for people around the world, is also creating new opportunities, with many businesses and individuals not ensuring their cyber defences are up to date. The report’s findings again underline the need for closer public-private sector cooperation if we are to effectively tackle the threat Covid-19 also poses to our cyber health.”

INTERPOL is anticipating a further increase in cyber crime in the near future. Vulnerabilities related to working from home and the potential for increased financial benefit will see cyber criminals continue to ramp up their activities and develop more advanced and sophisticated modi operandi. Additionally, threat actors are likely to continue proliferating coronavirus-themed online scams and phishing campaigns to leverage public concern about the pandemic.

Lastly, the policing organisation says that when a coronavirus vaccination is available, it is highly probable that there will be another spike in phishing related to these medical products as well as network intrusion and cyber attacks to steal data.