Digital criminals are using COVID-19 to steal private data from people trying to find out more about the disease.
As the spread of the coronavirus is growing, many are turning to digital maps and dashboards to find out more about the sickness.
Hackers are taking advantage of this, according to Shai Alfasi, a security researcher at Reason Labs, the threat research arm of Reason Cybersecurity.
“The attacks usually arrive in the form of an email that looks like the sender is a trusted, official source such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the World Health Organization,” he told The Telegraph.
“The subject lines have a message that claims the email has advice on how you can protect yourself from the virus or offers the latest virus updates or even a coronavirus map, which is supposed to track the spread of the outbreak.“
The victims are then encouraged to install maps and other tools. The scheme is used to steal things like the victims’ usernames, passwords, credit cards and other sensitive information.
Both individuals and businesses are being targeted in these attacks.
Smaller firms are especially at risk of falling prey to the hackers because they do not have the resources to defend themselves, according to Alfasi.
That is not the only threat caused by COVID-19. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued recommended actions for financial markets.
Having taken advice from national competent authorities, ESMA has recommended that all financial market participants, including infrastructures, should be ready to apply contingency plans. This includes the deployment of business continuity measures, to ensure operational continuity in line with regulatory obligations.
ESMA’s also recommended issuers should disclose any relevant significant information concerning the impacts of COVID-19 on their fundamentals or financial situation.
Moreover, earlier in March analysts downgraded foreign exchange Travelex’s credit rating due to questions of its governance as well as its losses from the coronavirus and a hack attack earlier this year.
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