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Experts Rallied To Fight Hacking Related To COVID-19

The sorry state of affairs in times of COVID-19 could not be contained, especially when there are several groups of hackers and scam artists, trying to use the crisis and the uncertainty it had created. At times when the unemployment is at all-time high and masses are struggling to get a decent meal, the timing of the practice makes it more heinous.

Apart from the petty scammers, offering COVID-19 DIY testing kits at discounted prices, there is a visible surge in the cyberattacks, especially in the phishing attempts. Lately, many users have received emails that were tailored to be as perfect as possible. Things get more problematic when attempts are made by hackers to install ransomware on hospital computer systems.

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To break the wave, various groups of cybersecurity experts are rallying to curb the threat. The umbrella group is an invite-only group with more than 400 experts, is called COVID-19 Cyber Threat Intelligence League. It was founded by Marc Rogers who is currently DEFCON‘s head of security.

Reuters says:

The group is also using its web of contacts in internet infrastructure providers to squash garden-variety phishing attacks and another financial crime that is using the fear of COVID-19 or the desire for information on it to trick regular internet users.

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“I’ve never seen this volume of phishing,” Rogers said. “I am literally seeing phishing messages in every language known to man.”

Rogers says that he’s never seen such a rallying of experts to fight for cybersecurity, and he hopes that it should go beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

The primary motive of the group is to make sure that the systems of hospitals and health care centers work smoothly, and does not get hit by ransomware.

“For CU Public Health, the attack was first discovered early last week when employees were unable to access system files,” Health IT Security noted. “The provider contacted the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security while working with a consulting firm to restore the website and investigate the scope of the incident.”