Bengaluru, May 21: The COVID-19-induced lockdown saw a spurt in crybercrimes in India with Kerala recording the highest number during the period, according to an analysis of IT security solutions provider K7 Computing.
The report analyses various cyberattacks within India during the pandemic and reveals that threat actors targeted the States with COVID-19-themed attacks aimed at exploiting user trust.
The sudden surge in the frequency of attacks witnessed from February 2020 to mid-April 2020 indicates that scamsters across the world were exploiting the widespread panic around coronavirus at both the individual and corporate level, the company said in a statement.
These attacks aimed to compromise computers and mobile devices to gain access to users confidential data, banking details and cryptocurrency accounts.
The key threats seen during this period ranged from phishing attacks to rogue apps disguised as COVID-19 information apps that targeted users sensitive data.
Phishing attacks were noticed more in Tier-II and Tier-III cities while the metros fared better.
Smaller cities saw over 250 attacks being blocked per 10,000 users.
Users from Ghaziabad and Lucknow seem to have faced almost six and four times the number of attacks, respectively, as Bengaluru users.
In Kerala, regions like Kottayam, Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi saw the highest hits with 462, 374, 236, and 147 attacks respectively, while the state as a whole saw around 2,000 attacks during the period, the highest thus far in the country.
This was followed by Punjab with 207 attacks and Tamil Nadu at 184 attacks, the statement said.
A majority of the recorded attacks were phishing attacks with sophisticated campaigns that could easily snare even the most educated users, it said.
These attacks were aimed at heightening users fears and creating a sense of urgency to take action.
The report noted phishing attacks where scamsters posed as representatives of the United States Department of the Treasury, the World Health Organisation, and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Users were encouraged to visit links that would automatically download malware on the host computer such as the Agent Tesla keylogger or Lokibot information-stealing malware, infamous banking Trojans such as Trickbot or Zeus Sphinx, and even disastrous ransomware.
Other attacks included infected COVID-19 Android apps like CoronaSafetyMask that scam users with promises of masks for an upfront payment; the spyware app Project Spy; and seemingly genuine apps that are infected with dangerous malware like banking Trojans such as Ginp, Anubis and Cerberus, it was stated.
Comments
Another RSS agent , if u think Azan is noise pollution then go to any isolated island , there u can never hear your noisy bajan as well. Kab Sudhroge, qayamat aane ke badh ??
Respected Readers
With Azaan sound, all devil forces feel uncomforting and they start running. So animal start crying by looking sudden changes in surrounding like dooms day.
In old days, the Azaan and Namaz was treatment for all type diseases and devil forces.
Please confirm this fact from your respected elders. Thanks.
Only Allah should take care of people like Tripura Governor Tathgatta Roya who are hatching communal conspiracy over the issue of noise pollution because of azaan by Muslims. Azaan is called just for two or three minutes and it should not be a problem for any one. Moreover even some non-muslims also enjoy this call for prayer by Muslims. These people fail to recognise the heavy air pollution and noise pollution caused by Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi, Dasara, their Bhajans and poojas by wasting milk, ghee etc. and cremation of their dead bodies. No one is worried about these pollutions. May the Almighty God guide these dirty minded communal conspirators on the right path, Aameen.
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