‘Beware malicious cyber actors’ warn government security agencies

Would you be tempted to click on the link in the picture on the right? Could your curiosity override your inbuilt human
intuition – ‘should I or shouldn’t I?’

Joint advice has been issued by the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre and the US Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), as there has been a rise in the number of scams where “malicious cyber actors” send messages that look like they come from government bodies.

According to the NCSC, An increasing number of malicious cyber actors are exploiting the current COVID-19 pandemic for their own objectives. In the UK, the NCSC has detected more UK government-branded scams relating to COVID-19 than any other subject.

The scams may ask people to carry out an action, like downloading an app or downloading a file, which could result in harmful software being downloaded to your computer or lead to a phishing website.

Some of the ways to spot a scam can be:

Authority – is the sender claiming to be from someone official, like a bank, doctor, a solicitor, government department? Criminals often pretend to be important people or organisations to trick you into doing what they want.

Urgency – are you told you have a limited time to respond, like “within 24 hours or immediately? Criminals often threaten you with fines or other negative consequences

Emotion – does the message make you feel panic, fearful, hopeful or curious? Criminals may use threatening language, make false claims of support and try to get you interested in finding out more.

Scarcity – Is the message offering something in short supply, like money or a cure for medical conditions? Fear of missing out on an opportunity can make you respond quickly.

Full advice, for both individuals and companies, can be found here.