who flag

World Health Organization Facing Cyber Attacks During Coronavirus Response

A malicious site imitating the WHO’s email system was created to collect the account information of the organization’s employees.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Mar 26, 2020

The World Health Organization is facing a “more than two-fold increase” in cyber attacks amid its efforts to organize a worldwide response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters report.

Flavio Aggio, the WHO’s chief information security officer, said that the identity of the “elite” hackers who attempted to break into the organization’s cyber infrastructure is unclear. Their efforts were unsuccessful, Aggio added.

“There has been a big increase in targeting of the WHO and other cybersecurity incidents,” Aggio told Reuters. “There are no hard numbers, but such compromise attempts against us and the use of (WHO) impersonations to target others have more than doubled.”

Cybersecurity expert Alexander Urbelis flagged the attempted attack to Reuters after noticing that a group of hackers had created a malicious site imitating the WHO’s internal email system. The activity began around March 13, Urbelis said.

“I realized quite quickly that this was a live attack on the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic,” Urbelis said.

Read More: As Hospitals, Nursing Homes Battle Coronavirus, Security Companies Offer Assistance With Cybersecurity Attacks

He could not identify who was responsible, but several sources told Reuters that they suspect DarkHotel, a group of advanced hackers, is behind the incident.

Costin Raiu, the head of global research and analysis at cybersecurity firm Kapersky, said that while he could not confirm that DarkHotel was behind the WHO incident, the same type of attack is being used against healthcare organizations in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

“At times like this, any information about cures or tests or vaccines relating to coronavirus would be priceless and the priority of any intelligence organization of an affected country,” Raiu told Reuters.

Several cybersecurity firms have been tracking the creation of coronavirus-related websites, finding that a high percentage are malicious and trying to scam consumers out of their money and financial information.

Urbelis said that there are still at least 2,000 new domains registered each day, many of which contain malware or are scamming people: “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies: Uniting Human Risk Management and Security Awareness Training

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

  • Report: 1 in 3 Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Found on Cloud Assets

    CyCognito recently released new research highlighting critical security vulnerabilities across cloud-hosted assets, revealing that one in three easily exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are found on cloud assets. As organizations increasingly shift to multi-cloud strategies, the findings underscore significant security gaps that could provide attackers with potential footholds into networks. Read Now

  • Built for Today, Ready for Tomorrow

    Selecting the right VMS is critical for any organization that depends on video surveillance to ensure safety, security and operational efficiency. While many organizations focus on immediate needs such as budget and deployment size, let us review some of the long-term considerations that can significantly impact a VMS's utility and flexibility. Read Now

  • Paving the Way to Smart Buildings

    In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, the convergence of on-prem, edge and cloud technologies are critical. The physical security landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid digitalization of buildings and the evolving needs of modern organizations. As the buildings sector pivots towards smart, AI and data-driven operations, the integration of both edge and cloud technology has become crucial. Read Now

  • The Cybersecurity Time Bomb

    If you work in physical security, you have probably seen it: a camera, access control system, or intrusion detection device installed years ago, humming along without a single update. It is a common scenario that security professionals have come to accept as "normal." But here is the reality: this mindset is actively putting organizations at risk. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.