"COVID-19 Related Cyber-Attacks Leveraged Government Announcements"

Researchers from the University of Oxford, WMG, University of Warwick, Abertay University, University of Kent, and the University of Strathclyde worked together in a study titled, "Cyber Security in the Age of COVID-19: A Timeline and Analysis of Cyber-Crime and Cyber-Attacks during the Pandemic," which has been published in the Computers and Security journal. The study reveals a clear connection between cybercrime campaigns and governmental policy announcements. This pattern has been suspected for a while, but this is the first study on it that involves hundreds of cases globally to make this direct connection. There have been many reports of scams involving the impersonation of public authorities like the World Health Organization, as well as organizations such as supermarkets and airlines, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. These scams have also targeted members of the public, who are now spending more time online. Many of the COVID-19 cyberattacks analyzed in this study begin with a phishing campaign that fools victims into downloading  a file or accessing a URL. The file or the URL act as the carrier of malware, which then acts as the vehicle for fraud when installed. The analysis showed that the likelihood of the attack's success increased when the phishing campaign leverages media and governmental announcements. The researchers observed a surge in cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructures, governments, organizations, and end-users, influenced by governmental announcements. The researchers observed targeted attacks, the selling of counterfeited medical equipment to hospitals, the denial of essential services via ransomware attacks, the sale of fake online COVID-19 testing equipment, and more. This article continues to discuss the performance and key findings from the collaborative study. 

The University of Oxford reports "COVID-19 Related Cyber-Attacks Leveraged Government Announcements"