The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/cybercrime/)
Clinical labs involved in testing new vaccines against COVID-19 have been among the targets of cybercriminals. The agency is encouraging hospitals and healthcare companies to ensure all their hardware and software are regularly kept up to date.
The company is facing a backlash from users worried about the lack of end-to-end encryption of meeting sessions and “zoombombing,” where uninvited guests crash into meetings. A study published last week found new and significant security flaws in Zoom, including ties to China, and the company is reportedly facing several investigations on data privacy and security.
A former agent said, “Cyber criminals are targeting video conferencing sites like Zoom, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The FBI says people using apps like Zoom should sure everyone’s software is updated, not make meetings or classrooms public and to provide links directly to users.
Called the COVID-19 CTI League, for Cyber Threat Intelligence, the group includes professionals in senior positions at such major companies as Microsoft Corp and Amazon. They plan to take on hackers who are exploiting the public’s fear of COVID-19 to launch new criminal schemes.
Examining the potential for responding to such attacks in the United Kingdom, two researchers concluded that domestic law is an “imperfect instrument” for deterrence or prevention. But civil law and regulations could offer some guidance, they suggested.
Experts fear cybercriminals will focus on large corporations which rely on markets and supply chains originating in China and other areas affected by the coronavirus. The European Central Bank (ECB) has already warned banks to prepare for a possible jump in the number of cyber attacks exploiting fears of the pandemic.
“The U.S. is currently not designed to act with the speed and agility necessary to defend the country in cyberspace,” a federal commission says.
Hacker invasions cost Baltimore $18 million, while Lake City, Florida’s insurer paid $470,000. Local and state governments are key targets.
CryptoMB is part of an aggressive marketing pitch and alleged global fraud scheme run through a Ukrainian telemarketing center named Milton Group, reports the Miami Herald.
In late December 2018 and early January 2019, Brandon Fleury, 22, of California used 13 different Instagram accounts to target victims’ families and survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fl.