Viruses, Trojan Horses, Phishing and Coronavirus – What to expect from Cybercriminals in the Coronavirus Era?

The coronavirus era has affected humankind in a wide range of spheres and faces waves of challenges across sectors and nations. One of them is cyberspace and the ability of different malicious actors to take advantage of the outbreak, the fear, doubt and uncertainty, the stay-at-home orders, and the new remote-working models, all for malicious and criminal purposes. The study examines the types of cyberattacks that happened during the first months of the coronavirus outbreak, their motives, and perpetrators. The analysis was based on related events of cyber-attacks and cybercrimes as published in media sources of information security, along with general media outlets, private blogs, research studies, and official publications of governments, agencies, and non-government organizations (NGOs). Currently, individuals, businesses, and countries face different types of cyber-attacks from different malicious motives. Different surveys examined remote-working model trends, especially in terms of cybersecurity (awareness, budgets, security, and intention to adopt this remote-working model). Based on those analyses, some of the reports predict that the near future will bring new, large-scale, powerful coronavirus-related cyberattacks, perhaps more than we ever knew. Future research may examine predicted waves of coronavirus-related cyber-attacks and cybercrimes and compare them with those of the first months of the outbreak and with the predictions. Therefore, such studies will be able to portray a wider picture of the use of the coronavirus era for malicious purposes by cybercriminals and cyber-attackers.

Dr. Tal Pavel*

SIR*IUS 1/2021