The trend towards using Zoom for all sorts of reasons, including familial ones, was seen at relatively high numbers in the U.S. across Thanksgiving. Similarly, high numbers of Zoom-for-social reasons are expected to be recorded across the Christmas period.
The main risk across the Holidays is with cybercriminals targeting Zoom users in attacks aimed at stealing Microsoft credentials. This is probable, given what occurred across Thanksgiving.
According to Threat Post, a themed email ploy was used which drew upon the rising popularity of the Zoom Video Communications platform. Here fake messages were sent out, falsely informing recipients, “You received a video conference invitation.” Instead, these were links to malicious code.
During this period, malicious actors successfully pried credentials out of thousands of users, according to the researcher who users the moniker ‘The Analyst’ on Twitter.
There are measures, however, that can be taken. This is according to Ric Longenecker, CISO at Open Systems, the preeminent networking and cybersecurity provider for the enterprise cloud.
Longenecker tells Digital Journal: “Though the media has been focused on sophisticated business-to-business software breaches, these latest Zoom attacks remind us that we are all targets, and that human error is a primary cause.”
Focusing on the inherent vulnerabilities, the CISO adds: “Cybercriminals succeed when people – whether they’re consumers in their homes or IT staff with a large company – let their guard down.”
To avoid such attacks, users need to be wary, says Longenecker : “People can safely use Zoom to connect with their friends and family during the Holidays, but they need to be cautious.”
Longenecker’s advice is: “Bogus phishing emails can’t hurt you if you don’t click their links. And taking advantage of Zoom’s substantial safety features – such as two-factor authentication – greatly improves security, but only if you use them.”
