COVID-19 Shenanigans

As with any crisis situation, a small number of “opportunists” (or shall we say “sociopaths”?) prey on public anxiety and fear for their personal gain. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen various kinds of shenanigans and will summarize some of them here.

Malware

Although there is a perennial battle against malware and cyberattacks, some hackers have impersonated the CDC and WHO as part of phishing scams. Others have launched COVID-19 email campaigns to bait recipients into clicking malicious links or have created fake coronavirus maps that look similar to authentic ones to attract unsuspecting clicks.

Hospitals are especially busy now, and new ransomware attacks are targeting remote employees to get through VPN connections and exploit other security vulnerabilities. Interestingly, some ransomware groups have pledged not to target hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I would guess that this represents a minority of hackers. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see that some criminals have enough of a conscience to hold back—unfortunately it is hard for me to feel positive about this news. Meh.

Credit Card Fraud

In a similar vein, coronavirus-related credit card fraud is also on the rise, so be on the lookout for scams and make sure you manage your credit cards wisely.

Additionally, I’ve seen a variety of restaurants offer special deals if you place orders through their mobile apps. I would recommend that if you take advantage of these kinds of offers, check to see if the app requires you to store your credit card or if you can enter your credit card for payment and choose not to store your card number. The more companies that have your credit card information, the more likely your personal information will be compromised in a security breach at some point. Balance the convenience of saving your credit card information against the risk of your credit card information getting into the wrong hands.

Zoombombing

Due to social distancing efforts, many workplaces have transitioned partly or completely to remote work, and most schools have switched to online learning. This has resulted in a sudden and dramatic increase in demand for videoconferencing. While there are a large number of video conferencing solutions, Zoom has seen explosive growth due in large part to its ease of use. In its most basic meeting configuration, participants can join a Zoom video chat by simply entering a meeting ID. Although password protection is an option, not everyone has been aware of it, so meeting crashers have engaged in a variety of activities ranging from disruptive to obnoxious to salacious, resulting in coinage of the term Zoombombing.

As a result, Zoom has created a website to provide recommendations on how to prevent Zoombombing. While most video conferencing solutions share a core set of common features, check with your video conferencing solution about both corrective and preventive actions you can take to video conference safely.