Between February and May 2020, more than half a million people throughout the world were affected by data breaches in which video conferencing users’ personal information was stolen and sold on the dark web. More individuals are imprisoned at home as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic and the subsequent lockdown; they are increasingly reliant on the Internet.As businesses adapt to a new operating paradigm in which working from home has become the “new normal,” the coronavirus pandemic has presented new obstacles.
Businesses are speeding up their digital transformations, and cyber security has become a big worry. If cyber security concerns are ignored, the consequences for reputation, operations, legality, and compliance could be severe.The COVID-19 epidemic and the ensuing lockdown resulted in many more individuals being trapped at home, with many more hours to spend online each day and a growing reliance on the Internet to receive services that they would normally obtain offline.
The dangers of cybercrime have existed for many years, but the rise in the percentage of the population connected to the Internet and the amount of time spent online, combined with the sense of detainment and anxiety and fear generated by the lockdown, has provided more opportunities for cybercriminals to profit or cause disruption. It’s crucial to remember that some of the population’s most vulnerable groups, such as children, require more time online for services like schooling. This sea change in how we live and utilise the Internet has resulted in an increase in e-crime. The use of common cybercrime methods like phishing has increased. Phishing is the deceptive tactic of tricking people into giving up personal information like passwords and credit card numbers by using bogus websites or emails. New information obtained by Google and evaluated by Atlas VPN, a virtual private network (VPN) service provider, sheds more light on the scale of the problem. According to the data, Google recorded 149,900 active phishing websites in January. That number nearly doubled to 293,000 in February. However, in March, that number had risen to 522000, a 350% increase over January.Government limitations in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic have pushed employees to work from home or even “stay at home.” As a result, technology has grown in importance in both our professional and personal lives.
