The coronavirus outbreak has led to a rise in hacking attempts and cyberattacks which is why an international group of close to 400 volunteers with expertise in cybersecurity have banded together to form a new group to combat these threats. The group, called the Covid-19 CTI League (for cyber threat intelligence), has members in more than 40 countries and includes professionals who hold senior positions at major companies including Microsoft and Amazon.
VP of cybersecurity strategy at Okta, Marc Rogers is one of the four initial managers of the effort and he said the group’s top priority would be preventing cyberattacks against medical facilities and frontline responders. In fact, the Covid-19 CTI League has already begun working on dealing with hacks of health organizations.
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The newly formed group is currently using its contacts at internet infrastructure providers to help stop phishing attacks and other financial cybercrime which preys on people’s fears of the coronavirus to trick them into installing malware on their computers. Rogers explained how the coronavirus has led to a huge surge in phishing attacks, saying: “I’ve never seen this volume of phishing. I am literally seeing phishing messages in every language known to man.”
According to Rogers, the Covid-19 CTI League has already managed to dismantle one campaign that used a software vulnerability to spread malicious software. However, he did not share any more details as the group is choosing to keep its operations close to the chest to avoid any retaliation from the cybercriminals it’s trying to stop.
