Hackers exploiting pandemic to steal sensitive information
Print Edition
It may look like an e-mail from a supervisor with an attachment on the new 鈥渨ork-from-home policy,鈥 but it could be a cleverly designed scheme to hack into your computer network.
The abrupt transition for millions to work remotely has sparked an unprecedented volume of attacks to trick people into giving up credentials to attackers, according to security researchers.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never seen anything like this,鈥 said Sherrod DeGrippo, head of threat research for the security firm Proofpoint. 鈥淲e are seeing campaigns with message volumes in the hundreds of thousands leveraging the novel coronavirus.鈥
The pandemic has created a perfect storm for cyberattacks, with millions of people working in unfamiliar, less-secured environments, eager for information about the virus and new organizational policies.
This situation presents a new avenue for malicious actors using phishing e-mails or 鈥渟ocial engineering鈥 to gain access or steal sensitive information.
鈥淲hen someone is working from home, it is a similar threat profile to an airport or a Starbucks 鈥 you just don鈥檛 have the protection you might have in the workplace,鈥 DeGrippo said. 鈥淎nd if we鈥檙e at home with our family where we feel safe, you might see a family member hop on to do homework who might not understand the security controls. Keeping mom鈥檚 and dad鈥檚 computer for mom and dad only is the right thing to do.鈥
Tom Pendergast of the security and privacy training firm MediaPRO said many people adjusting to the new landscape are unprepared for teleworking.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing if people have been working remotely with equipment that has been properly configured,鈥 Pendergast said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 different for people who haven鈥檛 had that experience.鈥
Attackers are exploiting people鈥檚 fears about the virus with scare tactics to get them to click on malicious links or attachments, but also playing on sympathies with fake crowdfunding pages purported to be for people who have fallen ill.
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