A new report from Check Point has revealed that state-sponsored hacking groups, political organizations, and cybercriminals took advantage of Coronavirus pandemic to destroy rival organizations. A series of cyberattacks has targeted various sectors, including healthcare services, critical infrastructure organizations, the government, and even consumers.
More than 200,000 attacks, all Covid-19 related, were recorded towards the end of April. That is a huge leap, considering that there were less than 5,000 cases recorded in February. In June, a 34% increase in the overall cyberattacks was reported compared to the previous months of March and April.
The report explained that state-sponsored hacking groups were mainly after intelligence information besides interfering with the competition’s efforts, who are trying to cope in the face of the pandemic.
Ransomware cases rising
Cybercriminals also demanded a ransom in exchange for crucial data that they stole. The criminals have managed to infiltrate app stores by adding malicious apps which lead to more mobile infection vectors. They have also gained access to large organizations from where they distribute malware.
Maya Horowitz, Director of Threat Intelligence and Research at Check Point, said that cybercriminals are using Covid-19 as an opportunity to carry out more attacks. The attacks are more effective at this time, when security is less strict, for remote workers who are outside company firewalls.
Remote working is not as secure
She adds that the worldwide response to the coronavirus during the first six months of this year has caused the attackers to come up with new attack vectors that globally pose serious threats to the safety of the organizations.
Therefore, it is mandatory for the experts employed in various organizations to be alert on the threats facing them now. They should also upgrade their security to the higher standards provided by advanced protection in order to minimize the attacks for the remaining half of 2020.
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