Google Sees Resurgence in State-Backed Hacking, Phishing Related to COVID-19

Google said it continued to see attacks from hackers on medical and healthcare professionals, including WHO employees.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 May 2020 09:58 IST

Google Sees Resurgence in State-Backed Hacking, Phishing Related to COVID-19

Google sent 1,755 warnings in April to users whose accounts were targets of government-backed attackers

Highlights

Google sent 1,755 warnings in April to targets of state-backed attackers
Users belonged to countries like Canada, India, Bahrain, the UK, the US
Google said it continued to see attacks on healthcare professionals

Security experts at Alphabet's Google sent 1,755 warnings in April to users whose accounts were targets of government-backed attackers, following a resurgence in hacking and phishing attempts related to the coronavirus outbreak. Google said on Wednesday its Threat Analysis Group saw new activity from "hack-for-hire" firms, many based in India, that have been creating Gmail accounts spoofing the World Health Organisation (WHO).

These accounts largely targeted business leaders in financial services, consulting and healthcare corporations in numerous countries including the United States, Slovenia, Canada, India, Bahrain, Cyprus, and UK, the company said in a blog post.

Google said it continued to see attacks from hackers on medical and healthcare professionals, including WHO employees.

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WHO and other organisations, at the centre of a global effort to contain the coronavirus, have come under a sustained digital bombardment by hackers seeking information about the outbreak.

"Since March, we've removed more than a thousand YouTube channels that we believe to be part of a large campaign and that were behaving in a coordinated manner", the blog post added.

Google Says State-Backed Hackers Increasing Coronavirus Phishing Attacks

© Thomson Reuters 2020

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