Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

UN Reports Sharp Increase in Cybercrime During Pandemic

A 350% increase in phishing websites was reported in the first quarter of the year, many targeting hospitals and health care systems and hindering their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. counterterrorism chief said Thursday.

A 350% increase in phishing websites was reported in the first quarter of the year, many targeting hospitals and health care systems and hindering their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. counterterrorism chief said Thursday.

Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that the upsurge in phishing sites was part of “a significant rise in cybercrime in recent months” reported by speakers at last month’s first Virtual Counterterrorism Week at the United Nations.

He said the U.N. and global experts don’t yet fully understand “the impact and consequences of the pandemic on global peace and security, and more specifically on organized crime and terrorism.”

“We know that terrorists are exploiting the significant disruption and economic hardships caused by COVID-19 to spread fear, hate and division and radicalize and recruit new followers,” Voronkov said. “The increase in internet usage and cybercrime during the pandemic further compounds the problem.”

The weeklong meeting was attended by representatives from 134 countries, 88 civil society and private sector organizations, 47 international and regional organizations and 40 United Nations bodies, he said.

Undersecretary-General Voronkov said the discussions showed a shared understanding and concern that “terrorists are generating funds from illicit trafficking in drugs, goods, natural resources and antiquities, as well as kidnapping for ransom, extorting and committing other heinous crimes.”

He said U.N. member nations “are rightly focused on tackling the health emergency and human crisis caused by COVID-19,” but he urged them not to forget the threat of terrorism.

In many parts of the world, Voronkov said, “terrorists are exploiting local grievances and poor governance to regroup and assert their control.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“The pandemic has the potential to act as a catalyst in the spread of terrorism and violent extremism by exacerbating inequalities, undermining social cohesion and fueling local conflicts,” Voronkov said. “We must continue our fight against terrorist groups and criminal networks to deny them the opportunity to exploit the COVID-19 crisis.”

Ghada Waly, executive director of the Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the council meeting on the linkage between counterterrorism and transnational organized crime that the links are “complex and multifaceted,” and “the COVID-19 crisis poses a host of new challenges to national authorities.”

“Organized criminal groups and terrorists may seek to capitalize on and exploit new vulnerabilities,” she said, “and transit patterns are shifting in view of travel restrictions and lockdown measures, adding further challenges for border security.”

Waly said: “Comprehensive and cooperative responses are needed more than ever.”

Related: Interpol Warns of ‘Alarming’ Cybercrime Rate During Pandemic

Related: Europol: Criminals Exploit Virus Crisis as Fresh Opportunity

Related: EU Demands End to Coronavirus Cyberattacks

Written By

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Application Security

Cycode, a startup that provides solutions for protecting software source code, emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday with $4.6 million in seed funding.

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

CISO Strategy

SecurityWeek spoke with more than 300 cybersecurity experts to see what is bubbling beneath the surface, and examine how those evolving threats will present...

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

CISO Conversations

Joanna Burkey, CISO at HP, and Kevin Cross, CISO at Dell, discuss how the role of a CISO is different for a multinational corporation...