There is no absolute safety at all. Nature is conceived in a way that things can go wrong and eventually. This applies to pandemics as well as cybersecurity incidents. The world was not fully prepared for an epidemic such as COVID-19. We did not know how the COVID-19 would affect the world and our society as much as it did.
This also applies to cyber-attacks and security incidents. A recent cyberattack has taken place in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Ultimately, the attack was ineffective, and no data was obtained. Still, cybersecurity experts suspect the perpetrator or culprits are possibly foreign actors who aim to undermine U.S. government institutions’ trust and effectiveness.
Knowledge of Blog
- Cybercrime Statistics During the Pandemic
- COVID Research and Vaccines
- Preparedness for Cybersecurity Threats
- How to Deal With Cyberattacks and Save Your Organisation
- EndNote
COVID-19 shows that pandemics, cyber-attacks, or ecological tipping points are in great danger in the world. Let’s see what the pandemic tells us about the state of the U.S. cybersecurity.
Cybercrime Statistics During the Pandemic
The figures are staggering and terrifying. The FBI has recently announced that its Cyber Division receives up to 4,000 complaints a day. This reflects a rise of 400 percent compared to pre-coronavirus. Interpol’s attacks threaten all types of firms. Still, big companies, governments, and medical institutions, which are vital priorities, are on an unprecedented rate of cyber attacks against large companies, governments, and critical infrastructure. Certain types of attacks are up much more. Microsoft reports that COVID-19 attacks on cybercriminals have increased to 20 000-30 per day alone in America by using phishing or social engineering attacks. Cybersecurity experts report that there is an 800 percent increase in Ransomware attacks during the pandemic. It’s heaven from the point of view of criminals’ perspective. They have stepped on a gold mine.
Attacks that succeeded during the pandemic shows how cybercriminals are targeting large corporations. The success rate may be due to these organizations having so many more people working remotely now. It may have been linked with a particular form of a ransomware attack that some of these businesses have paid the ransom. Criminals now have ransomware converted for doxware. If you don’t pay them, they will sell your information and warn your customers that you have been compromised, and their information has been jeopardized. This has changed the game since the beginning of the coronavirus – it has been seen in the past, but not to such an extent.
COVID Research and Vaccines
The pandemic and cyber have a lot of parallels in that it’s sort of a virus, it’s a horrible thing that happens, and it affects people, and it affects their lives. Until something very bad happens, there’s a violation or something that costs a business a lot of money or a product or company debt. It doesn’t seem to get a lot of publicity. This continues to be a challenge.
Cybercriminals have also targeted another type of target during the pandemic, which is vital to combating the virus. These organizations are so stressed and busy doing all the important work they need to stop this global pandemic. You also have incredibly valuable information such as research or possible vaccines, to be obtained from other companies or governments.
From the beginning of the global lockdown, the FBI warned of cybercriminals targeting research into coronavirus. These problems proved to be not only real but also increasing as the pandemic progressed. In June 2020, U.S., U.K., and Canadian Cyber Security Officers warned of the hacker collective APT29 and of their efforts to target research and development organizations of the U.S., U.K., and Canadian vaccines.
Preparedness for Cybersecurity Threats
Nobody knew about the coronavirus a couple of months ago. It did not exist and did not pose a significant danger to U.S. people as far as the average individual in the United States was concerned. The ways that COVID-19 highlights many cybersecurity problems entice a re-consideration of cybersecurity strategies and policies. The U.S. commission has found a prominent effort to review cybersecurity in the United States, as public and private cybersecurity remains insufficient, amid 20 years of policy issues and behavior. The Commission called for a regression policy by expectations, denial, and retribution, including layered dissuasion. In the Commission’s opinion, implementing this strategy needs a resilient economy, government reforms to improve preparedness for cybersecurity, and private sector initiatives to reinforce its cybersecurity role.
How to Deal With Cyberattacks and Save Your Organisation
Even if companies can not be outsiders or recruit third parties to test their safety, organizations can do the following to avoid cyber attacks:
- Train employees with the concepts of cybersecurity
- Protected critical information and breaching information
- Install the app and use it periodically to prevent data breaches.
- Download and use secure-connection firewalls on computers and laptops.
- Create backup copies of the documents and the data
- Do not share exchange sensitive details with third parties
- Secure your Wi-Fi connections
- Restricted access by workers to the organisation’s sensitive information
- Device security inspection for safe and smooth operation
EndNoteThe vulnerabilities in our current cybersecurity initiatives were demonstrated to us by COVID-19. To adequately protect their own data, some individuals lack the funds or technical knowledge. Others actually have no choice but to hand over their data. The pandemic of COVID-19 has several lasting consequences. We now know how critical cybersecurity is, especially in times when we are more vulnerable. That is why it is essential to learn the best ways to safeguard you and your company data today and work with cybersecurity professionals. Enroll for a cybersecurity training certification today!