Just as it is no surprise that criminals are taking advantage of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis, so it is no surprise that cybersecurity professionals are feeling the pressure. Ninety-five percent say they are facing additional challenges with increased attacks and new work-from-home demands.
Check Point Software, together with Dimensional Research, surveyed 411 global IT and security professionals from companies with more than 500 employees to test the pulse of this increased pressure. "The results," it says in a blog, "are sobering." Direct attacks are up all round, with 71% of respondents having seen an increase.
Phishing is, of course, the primary threat. Increased phishing attacks have been widely reported throughout the media, but it seems from this survey that more than half (55%) of all IT/security professionals have experienced them at first hand. Thirty-two percent have seen an increase in malicious websites purporting to offer information or advice on the pandemic; 28% have experienced an increase in malware attacks; and 19% have detected an increase in ransomware attacks.
In recent separate research, Check Point found that new coronavirus-themed domains are 50% more likely to be malicious than other domains; and that in the early days of the pandemic there was a huge surge in the number of new domain registrations -- almost 10 times the number in earlier weeks. Of these, it found that almost 20% were malicious or suspicious.
On April 4, Interpol issued a warning on increased ransomware attacks, saying its Cybercrime Threat Response team had "detected a significant increase in the number of attempted ransomware attacks against key organizations and infrastructure engaged in the virus response." It added, "At this point, the ransomware appears to be spreading ..
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