The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak, and the associated Covid-19 disease, is causing social and economic issues worldwide. In the midst of all this, cybercriminals are seeking to use the current state of disorder to exploit businesses.
In relation to this there are reports of phishing campaigns, such as from hacker proportion to work of the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to infect consumers phones with Agent Tesla keylogger. These attacks are said to be intensifying and seek to steal account data such as passwords from a user’s device, which enables criminals commit fraud.
READ MORE: Fraudsters are using coronavirus fears for phishing campaigns
Commenting for Digital Journal on the business risks, Will LaSala, Senior Director of Global Solutions at OneSpan, explains how banks and financial institutions can protect themselves and their customers from these types of phishing campaigns.
He adds that: ” Researchers are discovering hackers are already disguising malicious documents relating to Coronavirus in their attacks. Fortunately, financial institutions can take steps to better protect themselves, their employees and even their customers from these threats.”
In terms of what can be done to boost security and customer protection, LaSala notes: “The first step is to be aware of the heightened risk at this time and deploy enhanced safety precautions.”
For this, advanced digital technologies can assist financial institutions in gaining the necessary level of protection: “Banks and other financial institutions should adjust the rules engines on their fraud detection and prevention systems, monitor user behavior throughout the entire online banking session, and leverage machine learning and advanced risk analytics to identify abnormal user behavior in real time.”
However, picking the right technology is important (and not always straightforward), as LaSala notes: “Be warned that not all anti-fraud systems are equal – dynamic fraud solutions that are capable of automatically operating at a lower level of trust during times of increased risk are best suited to helping banks respond to the fast-paced nature of fraud during events like the coronavirus outbreak.”
He concludes his assessment with a general warning about enhanced vulnerabilities during times of crisis: “Hackers will always prey upon fear to increase the impact of phishing campaigns, and risk analytics technologies are key for today’s banks to determine fraud risk in real-time for individual transactions – delivering a level of security beyond what manual processes can provide.”
