New research has revealed that malware linked to the global coronavirus pandemic continues to be a threat to consumers around the world. Although many countries are now hoping to get through the worst of the pandemic, a Google Cloud report has unfortunately shown that large numbers of online criminals and scammers continue to propagate malware and coronavirus scams. The company has detected a significant increase in threats and scams, including coronavirus-related malware, phishing, and spam, in most countries around the world.
Coronavirus scams
"As the world continues to adapt to the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber threats are also evolving. From mimicking stimulus payments to providing opportunities for scarcity, bad guys tailor attacks on authoritative agencies or take advantage of the fear of the pandemic," said Neil Kumaran, Product Manager, Gmail Security and Sam Lugani, Lead Security PMM, G Suite and GCP Platform. Google Cloud's report notes that several "regional hotspots" were detected in its investigation, each of which contributed to large volumes of malware. This includes the UK, which has seen a rise in attackers impersonating public sector organizations after its government announced measures to help businesses, with attacks often impersonating Google. In India, Google Cloud saw an increase in scams targeting Aarogya Setu, an Indian government initiative to connect people with essential health services, as well as an increase in phishing scams targeting bespoke insurance companies. than more citizens for health insurance. Finally, in Brazil, the number of phishing attacks targeting streaming services has increased, as more and more people turn to video-on-demand apps in lockdown mode. Kumaran said that Gmail "continues to prevent more than 99.9% of spam, phishing and malware from reaching our users." The company seeks to counter new and evolving threats by using AI-powered protection, including a deep-learning malware scanner that examines more than 300 billion documents every week. "These newly developed and existing protections have allowed us to respond quickly and effectively to threats related to COVID-19, and will allow us to quickly adapt to news," Kumaran said.