There is a cartoon in The New Yorker of March 30, 2020 showing four mobsters, one with a gun, sitting around a table. The caption reads: “For health and safety reasons, we’ll be transitioning to cyber crime.” You can see the cartoon at https://www.newyorker.com/cartoon/a24009
No kidding! The huge increase in cyberattacks since the pandemic began is absolutely staggering, but not unexpected. I said as much in my BlogInfSec column of March 23, 2020, with the title: “Cybercriminals’ Motivations during Catastrophic Times.”
But now, some five months later, we are beginning to see some statistics in the press. One such source is the article, “Top Cyber Security Experts Report: 4,000 Cyber Attacks a Day Since COVID-19 Pandemic,” available at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/top-cyber-security-experts-report-4-000-cyber-attacks-a-day-since-covid-19-pandemic-301110157.html
The article attributes the rise to many more “people working from home, shopping online, and generally being more connected than ever.” While this explains the supply of opportunities, as it were, the demand by cybercriminals is likely exacerbated by the hardships of the times and the vulnerabilities and gullibility of a frightened population confronting a dreadful disease, economic collapse, and social upheavals—all at once.
No comments:
Post a Comment