Cyber Crime

COVID-19 themed attacks October 1 – December 5, 2020

This post includes the details of the COVID-19 themed attacks launched from October 1 to December 5, 2020.

Threat actors exploit the interest in the COVID-19 outbreak while infections increase worldwide, experts are observing new campaigns on a daily basis.

Below a list of attacks detected between October 1 to December 5, 2020.

October 26 – COVID19 vaccine manufacturer suffers a data breach

Dr. Reddy’s, the Indian contractor for Russia’s “Sputinik V” Coronavirus vaccine was hit with a cyber-attack that forced the company to close its plants.

November 13 – Three APT groups have targeted at least seven COVID-19 vaccine makers

At least the three nation-state actors have targeted seven Coronavirus vaccine makers, they are Strontium, Lazarus Group, and Cerium, Microsoft warns.

November 27 – Details of 16 million Brazilian COVID19 patients exposed online

The personal and health details of more than 16 million Brazilian Coronavirus patients, including Government representatives, have been exposed online.

November 30 – Exploring malware to bypass DNA screening and lead to ‘biohacking’ attacks

Boffins from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev described a new cyberattack on DNA scientists that could open to biological warfare.

December 3 – Hackers are targeting COVID19 vaccine cold chain

IBM X-Force experts warned of threat actors actively targeting organizations associated with the COVID vaccine cold chain.

December 5 – COVID19 – Johnson & Johnson saw a 30% uptick in cyber-attacks

Healthcare organizations like Johnson & Johnson are observing a surge of cyber attacks carried by state-sponsored hackers during COVID pandemic.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, COVID)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.

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