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COVID-19 and Cyber Security

March 20, 2020
By Troy Richardson, South-West Texas Border SBDC Network –

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. COVID-19 originated in China and has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As countries, states, and communities take preventive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, more businesses are allowing their employees to work remotely. It’s important to understand how this situation may affect your cyber security hygiene.

KEY POINTS

As with most significant global events, cyber criminals will leverage the event against potential targets to advance or achieve a malicious goal. This is most often carried out through phishing attacks. The cyber criminals send emails claiming to be from organizations that a recipient might expect to hear from, considering the current event. For example, with the COVID-19 disease, the emails may appear to come from a government health organization such as the CDC or other health care authorities. Users should be aware of this tactic and utilize good cyber security hygiene to include: (more…)