#Infosec21: NCSC Outlines Biggest Cyber Threats During COVID19

The main cyber-threat trends during COVID-19 and how they will affect the UK going forward were discussed by Eleanor Fairford, head of incident management at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), during the keynote session on day two of the Infosecurity Europe virtual conference.

Fairford began by describing the new opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to cyber-criminals and nation-state actors. Cyber-criminals have been able to “make the most of people’s vulnerabilities during this period and the increased threat surface that was presented by everyone working from home.” And for hostile nation-states, the pandemic provided more chances to steal highly sensitive information from other governments to gain an advantage over them, such as vaccine development.

She outlined the three areas NCSC regard as the biggest cyber-attack trends of 2020: cyber and fraud during COVID-19, the SolarWinds supply chain attacks and the proliferating ransomware threat.

Cyber and Fraud During COVID-19

In terms of cyber and fraud, Fairford revealed that during 2020, the NCSC observed more online scams “than in the previous three years combined.” Unsurprisingly, many were related to the COVID-19 pandemic - prominent examples include fake celebrity endorsement scams, vaccine adverts and fake online shops purporting to sell medical equipment or even COVID-19 ‘cures’. She added: “These are the sorts of techniques that really preyed on people’s vulnerability.” This is because of the enormous toll the pandemic has had on areas like health and the economy, making people far more anxious than they would typically be, and therefore more liable to be tricked.

Fairford also highlighted new ..

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