Cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm as phishing attacks skyrocket to 70-80% of all cyber threats in the post-pandemic era, states Pascal Steichen.
Cyberattacks regularly target private people, institutions, and businesses with the goal of acquiring sensitive information or money. According to the 'House of Cybersecurity', the number of phishing attempts has spiked since the pandemic. In conversation with RTL, head Pascal Steichen explained: "Before corona, phishing attempt accounted for 20-30% of all attacks. By now it is 70-80%.
Emails, text messages, and phone call remain the classic channels for these scams. Perpetrators usually get the respective addresses by trying out different combinations or acquiring them from hackers.
Messages tend to use an emergency as a pretext to get the attention of their potential victims. According to Steichen, guilt can also be used: "A hacker might say that they know that their victims have frequented dubious sites. They then ask for money to not publish a video [of this online history]."
Also popular with hackers are so-called ransomware attacks. "These target firms, data is blocked after which they demand money", noted Steichen.
He went on to elaborate that people and businesses regularly fall for these scams, which is why awareness is important. The House of Cybersecurity tends to treat thousands of cases each year.
And who is behind those attacks? "Everything related to crypto usually comes from Asia. All that has to do with social media tends to originate from Russia", says Steichen.
While individual phishing attempts are usually not pursued, larger scams are regularly uncovered and punished. Steichen praised international cooperation in this domain and conveyed that a respective UN convention is currently being drafted.
People are advised never to click on links or documents sent in suspicious messages. Common sense is often able to determine whether the contents of an email are likely to be trustworthy or not.
