As the coronavirus pandemic rages, another pandemic is taking advantage of the public: cybercrime. Picture this: thousands, if not millions of workers set up on secure wireless connections at work are now sent home. They went home to a network that may or may not be secure. They went home to a computer without support if something goes work. COVID-19 has been a nightmare for most people, yet it has created opportunities for cyberterrorists. Cybercriminals are using the virus for ransomware in COVID-19 messages, phishing schemes, network hacking, domain scams, and many other scams related to COVID-19. Cybersecurity is needed now more than ever.

Alarming Cyber Threat Statistics from COVID-19:

1. Scams have increased by 400% over the month of March, making COVID-19 the largest ever security threat. (Reedsmith)

2. Firms are facing an 80% increase in cyberattacks.

3. $30 billion in stimulus funds are estimated to be stolen through COVID-19 Scams. (The Hill)

4. The FBI’s cybersecurity complaints jumped from 1,000 to 3,000-4,000 a day. (The Hill)

5. 90% of new Coronavirus domains are a scam. (ZDNet)

6. 47% of employees working from home fell for a phishing scam. (Panda Security)

7. Healthcare breaches costs are the highest out of any other industry at $7.13 million. (Panda Security)

8. The United States falls victim to the most ransomware attacks at 80 million. (Sonicwall 2020 Report)

How can you better protect yourself from these attacks?

Preventing Cyber Attacks

Protect your password – Use complex and unique passwords for all accounts and implement two factor authentication. Never share your password with anyone. For example, do not use similar passwords such as footballguy3 and footballguy4. X3%bc^7xd9TJ# is a good example of a complex password.

Be skeptical of emails from unknown email addresses and any emails that look suspicious from a known sender. Do not click on any links or open attachments/files.

Do not reveal personal, financial information, or company information in emails nor respond to the emails asking for information.

Use a VPN and Endpoint security software for additional protection against phishing and malware attacks.

Partner with HEROIC for backup, recovery, breach monitoring, and cyber defense. HEROIC Cybersecurity provides all around protection for individuals and organizations. We offer advanced cybersecurity solutions that detect and destroy cyber threats in real time to better protect you from hackers and other malicious outsiders.  HEROIC.com

Utilize HEROIC’s data breach scan. With over 15 billion usernames and passwords leaked on the dark web, our database is the most up-to-date view that will check to see if your accounts have been compromised.

Hackers will continue to take advantage of the pandemic with force. Data breaches have now become “when” instead of “if” for those without cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is like insurance for your information and is needed now more than ever.