The coronavirus pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in the number of cyberattacks, as opportunistic cyber criminals prey on human vulnerabilities. As governments intervene to alleviate the ensuing economic disruption through financial aid for both businesses and individuals, bad actors are attempting to profit. Largely targeting remote workers, bad actors are utilizing Google-branded impersonation attacks and malicious websites to scam or misinform people about governments’ financial assistance programs.
In an article for Insurance Business Canada, Brian Lapidus, Global Practice Leader of the Identity Theft and Breach Notification practice of Kroll, a division of Duff & Phelps, states “Cybercriminals read the paper and read news online, so they look for crises and they use those to drive cybercrime.” Based on internal data, Brian highlights how malware is being introduced into organizations through communications related to COVID-19 and discusses the spike in tax-related scams wherein criminals call consumers posing as a tax agency. Brian advises Canadian organizations to understand how and where their data is stored and advocates for preparedness through conducting employee training and tabletop exercises, and purchasing cyber insurance to protect their bottom lines from significant losses should a breach or hack occur.
The full article is available here.
