TFL Vsebine / Revija SIR*IUS

Viruses, trojan horses, phishing and coronavirus – what to expect from cybercriminals in the coronavirus era?

Čas korone je prizadel človeštvo na mnogih področjih in prinesel nove izzive v raznih sektorjih in državah. Med njimi je tudi kibernetski prostor in možnost zlonamernih akterjev, ki izbruh, strah, dvom in negotovost, uredbe o ostajanju doma in nove načine dela na daljavo izkoristijo za zlonamerne in kriminalne namene. Študija preučuje vrste kibernetskih napadov, ki so se zgodili v prvih mesecih izbruha koronavirusa, njihove motive in storilce. Analiza je temeljila na sorodnih dogodkih kibernetskih napadov in kibernetskih zločinov, objavljenih v medijskih virih informacijske varnosti, skupaj z objavami v splošnih medijih, na zasebnih blogih, v raziskovalnih študijah in uradnih publikacijah vlad, agencij in nevladnih organizacij (NVO). Trenutno se posamezniki, podjetja in države soočajo z različnimi vrstami kibernetskih napadov z različnimi zlonamernimi motivi. Razne raziskave so preučevale trende načina dela na daljavo, zlasti v smislu kibernetske varnosti (ozaveščenost, proračuni, varnost in namen sprejetja takega načina dela na daljavo). Na podlagi teh analiz nekatera poročila napovedujejo, da bo bližnja prihodnost prinesla nove obsežne in močne kibernetske napade, povezane s koronavirusom, in morda jih bo več, kot smo jih kdaj koli poznali. Prihodnje raziskave bodo morda preučile napovedane valove kibernetskih napadov in zločinov, povezanih s koronavirusom, in jih primerjale s tistimi iz prvih mesecev izbruha in s predvidevanji. Zato bodo take študije lahko prikazale širšo sliko izkoriščanja koronavirusnega obdobja za zlonamerne namene kibernetskih kriminalcev in napadalcev.

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.