Categories: Technology

Hackers Are More Active During The Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard to deal with for everyone. It has caused people to die, close businesses, and live with fear. At the height of the crisis in 2020, most people spent their time at home. To reduce boredom and increase their income streams, many people began kasyno online bonus bez depozytu, online freelancing, crypto trading, and so on.

Unfortunately, the pandemic caught the attention of hackers. They figured out that millions of people will rely on internet gadgets for work, shopping, socializing, and fun. Thus, hackers have been a constant nuisance since 2020. Hacking attempts in the past months have been many. Hackers have many ways to get to your hard-earned dollars.

IMAGE: PEXELS

One trick that hackers have been using on their victims is a promise of secret data or protection from the virus. It is a trick to use the current crisis to trick people to part with their money. As hackers have a lot of technical knowledge and craftiness, they always get what they want. They also get away with it most of the time.

They have been so persistent and crafty during the pandemic that the frequency of attacks has gone up. From their behaviour, they want to capitalize on this pandemic to increase their profits. Hackers are aware that people are afraid of catching the virus. If they had it their way, they could give anything to wipe the virus from the face of the earth.

Sadly, common people without medical or scientific knowledge can only wait for the crisis to end on its terms. Meanwhile, they can fall into hackers’ traps using the phrase COVID-19 or coronavirus. They know that people will read or check on anything related to the pandemic. Once they attract a massive number, they lead them to a phishing website with misleading information.

Those who do not recognize the traps end up sharing their private information. The moment you enter a password, or your credit card data, the hacker does not need you anymore. They have the treasure they were searching for and will enter the phase of tormenting you. Another way that they have tricked people during the pandemic era is by leading them to a malware site.

Once you click to download, the criminals will have things their way. Jerome Segura, a threat intelligence director at Malwarebytes, reported that his organization had noted a substantial increase in malware campaigns during COVID-19. In his email, he wrote that there seemed to be all types of hackers, including state-sponsored and typical cybercriminals.

Jerome also insisted that the malware attacks target your bank information, login details for your online money accounts, and so on. Although Malwarebytes did not reveal the origins of the attackers, it described some of the malicious activities it had noted. One of these included a malicious spam email that claimed to offer information from WHO (World Health Organization) about safeguarding businesses and kids from the coronavirus.

The hackers who circulated this spam email knew well that most people would like to read such information. Unfortunately, those who clicked the email allowed a malicious software tool to load and collect their web surfing activities. As they would not know immediately, hackers would have ample time to collect their logins and sensitive data about money or credit cards.

Another malicious app found by another security company, Zscaler, pledged to alert users when they were near an infected person. Surprisingly, the app itself was a ransomware virus aimed at stealing information. Another less suspicious method the attackers have been using is setting up new website domains.

When people check these websites, they would have no reason to doubt their legitimacy. Unfortunately, those who click items on those websites might become victims of cyberattacks during the pandemic. The final word of advice to users is to ensure that they avoid suspicious apps, emails, and websites. Above all, they should protect their devices with functional anti-virus software.