Hey there, FixMeFans and StartMeStars! We hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. We’re back with another edition of our weekly roundup where we deliver the most recent comings and goings of the cybersecurity world.
This week we’re coming to you with news concerning an exposed Russian disinformation campaign, how a new dark web audit is revealing over 15 billion stolen credentials, and the details of the rise and fall of COVID-19 cyberattacks.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – this seems to be the mantra adopted by a Russian disinformation campaign which has spanned the past six years.
With over 2500 posts released during the past several years, officials have recently exposed a huge Russian disinformation campaign whose goal was to spread distrust and sway elections across European and North American nations.
Among these posts were claims that extremist Remainers were plotting to assassinate UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, how German Chancellor Angela Merkel was an alcoholic, and various other attacks on European and American politicians.
While the organizers of this campaign definitely had a lot of material to post, almost none of it went viral, often accumulating dust on the back pages of the internet.
You can read up on the situation here!
Recently, a report was released indicating the extent of stolen login credentials that could be found on the dark web, with some pretty concerning results.
With a 300% increase since 2018, there are now over 15 billion stolen credentials available on the dark web for cybercriminals to access.
While some of the more generic logins would typically go for a price of $15.43, more premium credentials, such as active bank logins, can go for as high as $500.
With that being said, data breaches can affect nearly anybody, the best thing you can do is up your security – check out our internet safety tips to make sure you’re on top of your cybersecurity!
Curious? You can check out information on the data breach here.
During the spring months, COVID-19 scams were popping up every other day – though recently that number has been declining significantly, Microsoft reports.
In a timeline of COVID-19 scams, attacks seem to have started in early February, shortly after WHO declared a global health emergency. The attacks quickly spiked to nearly 1 million during the first weeks of March, likely targeting the widespread outbreak and financial crash that came with it.
Since then, COVID scams have reduced significantly, falling by nearly 30%, with Microsoft reporting less than 100 000 per day. And while reports of cybercriminal attacks average nearly 12 million per day, it does appear that COVID-19 threats are on their way out – though as States continue to reopen and infection numbers rise, the scams might make their way back.
You can read up on the rise and fall of COVID-19 scams here.
That’s all for this week’s roundup folks! We hope you’re staying safe with all that’s going on, especially when it comes to your cybersecurity!
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