Stay informed on the latest COVID-19 cyber threats and infosec trends. Protect your data from pandemic-related cyber attacks with our news and insights.
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Background for this topic.
COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which led to a global pandemic officially declared by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Characterized by symptoms like fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, COVID-19 can lead to severe respiratory illness and has had profound impacts on public health and the global economy.
In the context of information security, the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant implications. Cybersecurity threats related to COVID-19 emerged rapidly, as attackers exploited the heightened state of urgency, widespread fear, and the proliferation of remote workforces to launch various cybersecurity attacks. This includes an increase in phishing campaigns using COVID-19 related themes, malicious websites purporting to offer information or services related to the virus, and ransomware attacks targeting healthcare institutions and critical infrastructure. Misinformation and scams regarding COVID-19 also abound, making information security more crucial than ever.
Additionally, the rush to deploy remote work solutions often led to inadequate security measures, exposing organizations to greater cyber risk. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of cybersecurity practices and policies, with a renewed focus on securing remote work, improving incident response plans, and enhancing overall cyber hygiene to protect against the evolving threat landscape influenced by COVID-19.
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Dark Reading editors reflect on two decades of dramatic change — from perimeter defense to assume-breach strategies — and warn that while AI, cloud, and COVID-19 have transformed the threat landscape, organizations are still failing at fundamental security hygiene that could stop sophisticated attacks in their tracks.
Extradition links alleged MSS-directed hacker to Silk Typhoon and COVID-19 espionage
A Chinese national accused of being a member of the Silk Typhoon hacking group has been extradited to the U.S. from Italy. Xu Zewei, 34, was arrested in July 2025 by Italian authorities for his alleged links to the Chinese state-sponsored threat group and for orchestrating cyber attacks against American organizations and government agencies between February 2020 and June 2021, including
Xu Zewei was allegedly directed by China’s intelligence services to conduct a sweeping espionage campaign to steal data on COVID-19 research and other U.S. policy interests. The post Chinese national extradited to US for pandemic-era Silk Typhoon attacks appeared first on CyberScoop.
Paper Traces Pandemic-Era Spike in AttacksOne way to look at the novel coronavirus pandemic: A societal experiment in how an oft-overlooked yet essential element of secure networking would stand up to an exploding user base. Unsurprisingly, the rapid uptake of virtual private networks by companies suddenly managing a remote workforce came with significant security costs.
Covid-style financial support? Nothing to confirm yet, say MPs The chair of the UK's business and trade committee says the situation at Jaguar Land Rover is likely to get "harder and harder over the next week or two," but stopped short of confirming that the government might intervene with financial support.…
As post-cyberattack layoffs begin, labor org argues UK goverment should step in The UK's chief automotive workers' union is calling on the government to establish a Covid-esque furlough scheme for the thousands of individuals who face losing their jobs due to the cyber-related downtime at Jaguar Land Rover.…
Doing a simple system reset may not be enough to save you from fines and lawsuits With the end of Windows 10's regular support cycle fast approaching, and a good five years since the COVID pandemic spurred a wave of hardware replacements to support remote work, many IT departments are in the process of refreshing their fleets. But what they do with decommissioned systems is just as important as the shiny new ones they buy.…
The US allege that the hacker stole critical COVID-19 research from universities at the behest of the Chinese government
Shanghai Man Tied to Beijing-Backed Silk Typhoon Cyberespionage AttacksItalian police arrested Chinese national Xu Zewei, 33, based on a U.S. arrest warrant charging the Shanghai resident with participating in "Silk Typhoon" cyberespionage attacks, including targeting novel coronavirus vaccine development information from the University of Texas.
The rate of compensation gains has slowed from the COVID years, and budgets remain largely static due to economic fears, but CISOs are increasingly gaining executive status and responsibilities.
It comes amid a major crackdown on the abusive industry that started during COVID Thailand is preparing to receive thousands of people rescued from scam call centers in Myanmar as the country launches a major crackdown on the pervasive criminal activity across its border.…
Daniel Hulea Orchestrated Attacks Targeting Businesses During the COVID-19 PandemicA U.S. federal court sentenced a Romanian man to 20 years in a U.S. prison for his role in Netwalker ransomware attacks including against healthcare and education sectors during the novel coronavirus pandemic, extorting millions of dollars from victims worldwide.
New York state regulators punish insurers after cybercriminals illegally access customer info they then used to file scam unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
LA County Clinic Delayed Access to Patient's Medical Records During PandemicFederal regulators have fined a Los Angeles county mental health clinic $100,000 for failure to provide a patient with timely access to her requested health records during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case is the U.S. government's 51st HIPAA patient right-of-access enforcement action.
Pen-testing tools didn't work – and personal info of folks hit by pandemic started appearing in search engines Updated Two consulting firms, Guidehouse and Nan McKay and Associates, have agreed to pay a total of $11.3 million to resolve allegations of cybersecurity failings over their roll-out of COVID-19 assistance.…
The DoJ says it has seized $1.4bn and charged 3500 defendants in COVID fraud cases since 2021
Amid COVID-19 Ransomware Woes, Sanaz Yashar's Frustration Sparked Zafran's BirthFaced with relentless cyberattacks and the shortcomings of existing defenses, Sanaz Yashar embarked on a journey to create a security risk and mitigation platform, transforming frustration into startup Zafran, which emerged from stealth Thursday with more than $30 million in funding.
How Forcepoint Data Security Everywhere does what it says on the tin Sponsored Post The coronavirus pandemic appears to have changed the employment landscape forever, with estimates suggesting that up to a quarter of staff still spend some of their working week outside of the office compared to just 6 percent prior to 2020.…
An AppOmni researcher detailed a misconfiguration in the HSE COVID Vaccination Portal, exposing the health and personal data of over a million Irish citizens