COVID-19-Related Attacks Exploded in the First Half of 2020

A midyear report on cyber threats finds that COVID-19-related attacks grew from fewer than 5,000 per week in February to more than 200,000 per week in late April. And those attacks didn't mark the end of threats, as all cyberattacks increased in number by 34% in May and June compared with March and April.

The report, from Check Point, contains details on the attacks, including items such as Excel files being the most used in both web and email attacks, 80% of exploited vulnerabilities registered in 2017 or earlier, and more than 20% of those exploited vulnerabilities that were 7 years old or older.

When looking at the types of attacks on the increase, Check Point found that double-extortion attacks (in which criminals exfiltrate data before encrypting it, then threaten to release sensitive data if a ransom isn't paid, whether or not the victim can successfully decrypt the locked data) and mobile device exploits are among those rapidly escalating in number.

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