Looking Ahead Cybersecurity and COVID-19 Looking Ahead Cybersecurity and COVID-19 Broadly, threat actors targeting telecommuters have attempted to carry out malicious activities by exploiting vulnerabilities on two levels: Globally, cyber threat actors are exploiting the panic and fear caused by COVID-19 to conduct malicious activities. These actors range from cybercriminals seeking financial gain, to APT groups attempting to gain access to classified information. 47 Consequently, many Internet users have fallen victim to such activities, with cybersecurity vendors noting that the number of successful COVID-19-themed phishing attacks has been increasing throughout the first few months of 2020. 48 47 48 48 At the Infrastructure Level — Applications At the Individual Level — Working from that facilitate telecommuting and remote home may also result in occasional lapses collaboration have skyrocketed in popularity in one’s security consciousness. Under in the wake of the pandemic. However, these pressure to meet work targets amidst the may contain vulnerabilities that malicious challenges of working from home, people actors can exploit to sneak into meetings, or may show greater willingness to take on take over accounts to steal information; the calculated security risks and trade-offs in Ministry of Education (MOE), for instance, order to get work done, such as discussing moved quickly to suspend the use of video urgent classified work with colleagues conferencing platform Zoom on 9 April over unsecured video conference calls. 2020 after hackers hijacked a home-based They may also exercise less discernment or learning class using it. In addition, the caution than necessary when downloading pandemic has also increased organisations’ telecommuting applications or Virtual exposure to hacking attempts through their Private Network (VPN) clients. This employees who are working from home, heightened cybersecurity risk appetite given that home networks are usually less could increase the individual’s exposure secured than corporate networks. to hacking attempts. Henderson, Scott, Roncone, Gabby, Jones, Sarah, Hultquist, John, and Read, Ben. “Vietnamese Threat Actors APT32 Targeting Wuhan Government and Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management in Latest example of COVID-19 Related Espionage,” FireEye Threat Research, 22 April 2020, https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threatresearch/2020/04/apt32-targeting-chinese-government-in-covid-19-related-espionage.html. “Sophisticated COVID-19-Based Phishing Attacks Leverage PDF Attachments and SaaS to Bypass Defenses,” Menlo Security Blog, 4 April 2020, https://www.menlosecurity. com/blog/sophisticated-covid-19-based-phishing-attacks-leverage-pdf-attachments-and-saas-to-bypass-defenses. SINGAPORE CYBER LANDSCAPE 2019 49