The challenges posed by the Coronavirus to cyber security … are still to come

There has been a lot of news recently about digital attacks here and there, Countries like the Philippines, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, many institutions there were attacked by sending a set of emails that appear to contain information or content related to COVID 19 virus prevention, but In fact, it was nothing but a group of malicious programs that were designed to penetrate the official government platforms in those countries.

The hackers have used excerpts from previous statements by officials around the world about the state of the disease, which makes their task easier because the victims will often open those links; this hacking strategy is known as directive phishing technology.

So, what is phishing?

It is one of the most successful strategies that hackers adopt year after year, in which individuals or companies are targeted, that simply means that your computer will be hacked if you click those fake links without noticing any evidence of that.

This strategy has become a regular tradition adopted by hackers in times of global crises, chaos, wars & epidemics.

Speaking about epidemics, we have seen previous experiences in times of SARS, Ebola, and Zika virus outbreaks, so it’s not surprising that these attacks continue from the beginning of January to the future

How can companies and individuals face these challenges?

In the beginning, you should take care of all incoming e-mails, and don’t be surprised if you know that you have to take extra care of incoming messages from official organizations. Think that those letters bearing the slogans of the World Health Organization, or the CDC, appear to be a trap! And you have to ask yourself; why does WHO send me an email? I don’t work there! And how did they get my email to send those messages? You will know this when you are sure that the email domain does not match the WHO.INT domain.

Here are some quick tips:

1) Never download any file from any site that does not support security protocols.

2) Scan attachments in any email even if it is from a trusted person.

3) Avoid downloading applications outside APPLE – GOOGLE PLAY stores.

4) Commit to following the news from one reliable source.

5) Use an encrypted closed network in case of working from home.

6) Never store your financial information, credit card numbers or even any important passwords in your browser history.

7) Start updating your databases and backing up your important files on a computer not connected to the internet.