The number of coronavirus-related email attacks has increased by 667 percent since the end of May 2021, according to a cybersecurity threat report published by E Com Security Solutions.
Many organizations and companies experience changes in their working conditions due to the covid-19 pandemic. This shift has increased remote activities, such as teleworking. Teleworking furthers the reliance on email for communication, thus creating perfect conditions for email fraud schemes.
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the pandemic by using widespread awareness of the subject to trick users into revealing their personal information or clicking on malicious links, unwillingly downloading malware to their computers.
Between March 1 and March 23, E Com Security Solutions, the cyber research team detected 4,67,825 spear-phishing email attacks, and 9,116 of those detections were related to covid-19, representing about 2 percent of the attacks. In comparison to this, a total of 1,188 covid related email attacks were detected in February while only 137 were in January.
E Com Security Solutions cyber research team said that they have seen three main types of phishing attacks using covid themes – scamming, brand impersonation, and business email compromise.
What would happen if I became a victim of phishing?
- If you entered login credentials to access information, change them immediately.
- If you have provided your bank details, contact your bank or credit card company.
How to recognize phishing-
The emails sent usually:
- Look identical to messages from a reputable organization.
- Sound urgent or try to spread fear
- Claim to enclose important information or breaking news
- Ask you to download and/or click on attachments and links.
How you as an internet user to protect against phishing attacks-
- Take time to reflect on a request for your personal information and whether the request is appropriate.
- Never supply any personal or financial information and passwords to anyone via email.
- Avoid emails that insist you act now.
- Check the email address.
- Check the link before you click.
- Be aware of third-party sources spreading information about covid-19.
- Protect your devices.
How organizations can protect their employees from phishing attacks-
Social engineering and phishing pose a greater threat to organizations. This course focus on social engineering techniques including types of phishing, hoaxes used by attackers, and the best practices to protect from these attack vectors.
Up to 90% of all cyber incidents are caused by human action. Companies should therefore pay more attention to the cybersecurity hygiene of their employees. In this context, education and training is a cost-effective way to lower your risk of experiencing a cyber incident. Make your employees the best protection against cyber threats through cyber awareness training.
E Com Security Academy provides intuitive employee training thru our cloud-enabled learning environment customized to meet all kinds of organizations. This training program on social engineering and phishing focuses on social engineering techniques including types of phishing, hoaxes used by attackers, and the best practices to protect from these attack vectors.