{"id":13137,"date":"2020-04-24T15:23:32","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T15:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prensa.lacnic.net\/news?p=13137"},"modified":"2020-04-29T12:44:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T12:44:34","slug":"coronavirus-using-the-internet-allows-us-to-take-care-of-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lacnic.net\/en\/coronavirus-using-the-internet-allows-us-to-take-care-of-ourselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: Using the Internet Allows Us to Take Care of Ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Graciela\nMart\u00ednez *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LACNIC CSIRT<\/a> has\nobserved an increase in cybercrime reports during the current global health\ncrisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with\nthis serious situation, the \u201cbad guys\u201d of the Internet have not wasted any time\nand, unfortunately, are taking advantage of the vulnerabilities created by the\nemergency, the need for information many people experience, and the key role\nthat the Internet is playing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\naddition, many people are resorting to telecommuting and this is forcing the\nuse of an increased number of digital solutions in non-controlled environments\nsuch as companies themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto information provided by Recorded Future, in the first trimester of 2020, registration\nof domain names related to the coronavirus grew from very few to close to 800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this\nreason, LACNIC CSIRT has tried to update the Internet community with the latest\ninformation about certain types of fraud so that everyone can be on the lookout\nand prevent cyberfraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this\ncontext, there has been an increase in cybercrime targeting users who wish to\naccess maps with information on the coronavirus pandemic, coronavirus symptoms,\nand other coronavirus related topics. Many of these attacks direct users to\nmalicious websites that not only try to steal confidential user information but\nalso provide fake diagnoses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attackers\nhave also targeted online shopping sites. Fake websites have been created\noffering protective products that are currently in high demand, such as face\nmasks and hand sanitizer. Attackers are also taking advantage of this type of\nwebsites to request Bitcoin donations under the pretense of funding research to\nfind a vaccine against the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most\ncommon form of attack is via email \u2013 most of these fraud attempts use an email\nattachment or a link to a malicious site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Vade Secure, many documents created with the Microsoft suite have been\ndetected that exploit previously known vulnerabilities. These documents appear\nto originate in reliable sources and contain information regarding the\nevolution of the virus, protection tips and other topics.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several\nindustries have been affected by these campaigns, including the pharmaceutical\nsector, the cosmetics sector, the financial sector, transportation and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people\ndon’t regard credential theft as a serious crime. However, when one considers\nthat this information allows attackers to gain access to other systems, we\nrealize that it is indeed very serious, as attackers know that many people use\nthe same username and password for different purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations.<\/strong>\nGiven the increase in fraud, LACNIC CSIRT has prepared the following\nrecommendations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n