Cyber threats focusing on Covid-19 outbreak

Abstract

The outbreak of the novel corona virus or Covid-19 has sparked a wave of changes. Social-distancing and remote working meant that increasingly employees and individuals were reliant on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to connect and gain access to information. In light of the outbreak of the virus, a vast number of users were required to carry out business activities remotely. Users turned to cyberspace for communication, entertainment and information. A critical dependency for ICT emerged. This also resulted in various fraudsters, attackers and criminals seeking to take advantage of the unsettling situation. This paper takes a look at pertinent cyber threats that aimed to utilise the corona virus in order to exploit users. This work aims to show how the health crisis was manipulated for fraudulent cyber schemes, attacks and exploits, as well to create awareness on these cyber threats in order to prevent users from falling victim to them. Furthermore, the paper also looks at the approach of these attacks to identify the main characteristics for the attack execution. This can help with identification and deterrence of Covid-19 related cyberattacks.