BENGALURU: With a vaccine now appearing as the only way to beat the pandemic, the dark web has been flooded with hundreds of domains that promise ‘vaccines’ at a price, in some cases as high as $ 250.
In its latest report, Check Point Research, a global cybersecurity firm, has found a stream of posts online from sources claiming to have a variety of ‘coronavirus vaccines’ or remedies for sale.
From “coronavirus vaccine available for $ 250” to “Say goodbye to Covid-19 = Chloroquine Phosphate” and “buy fast. The coronavirus vaccine is now available ”, the range of announced remedies is extensive.
The findings come shortly after Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, issued an early warning notification last week. “When a Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, it will probably not be available for sale online. However, fraudulent pharmaceutical products that allegedly treat or prevent Covid-19 are already for sale, both online and offline, ”the notice reads.
The Check Point report notes: “All the providers we found insist on paying in bitcoin as it minimizes the chances of being tracked, which casts further doubts about the authenticity of the drugs they sell. In communications with a supplier, they offered to sell an unspecified Covid-19 vaccine for 0.01 BTC (around $ 300) and claimed that 14 doses were required. This advice contradicts official announcements that some vaccines require two injections, 3 weeks apart, per person. ”
1k + new domains
November’s positive news about vaccine trials and impending availability has led to a surge in new Covid-19-related or vaccine-related web domains, the report reads. Check Point said 1,062 new domains containing the word “vaccine” have been registered since the beginning of November. Of these, 400 also contain “covid” or “corona”.
These figures are equivalent to the figures for the previous three months (August, September and October) combined, the report said. It also found that, in addition to trying to sell bogus vaccines, cybercriminals are also using vaccine-related news as bait for phishing campaigns.
Some emails were found delivering malicious ‘.exe files’ with the name ‘Download_Covid 19 New Vaccines Approved 23.07.2020.exe’ which installs an InfoStealer capable of collecting login information, user names and passwords to allow threat actors take over the accounts.
2021 threat perception
Calling the pandemic an ultra-rare but high-impact event that has derailed business, the firm said a separate investigation showed 58% of security professionals reported an increase in cyber threats since the shutdowns were imposed.
Hackers have also tried to take advantage of the disruption caused by the pandemic and “pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines will also continue to be targeted by malicious attacks from criminals or nation-states seeking to exploit the situation,” the report reads.
Aside from this, a variety of phishing activities have been predicted, including targeting parents with remote learning and an increase in malware attacks.
In its latest report, Check Point Research, a global cybersecurity firm, has found a stream of posts online from sources claiming to have a variety of ‘coronavirus vaccines’ or remedies for sale.
From “coronavirus vaccine available for $ 250” to “Say goodbye to Covid-19 = Chloroquine Phosphate” and “buy fast. The coronavirus vaccine is now available ”, the range of announced remedies is extensive.
The findings come shortly after Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, issued an early warning notification last week. “When a Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, it will probably not be available for sale online. However, fraudulent pharmaceutical products that allegedly treat or prevent Covid-19 are already for sale, both online and offline, ”the notice reads.
The Check Point report notes: “All the providers we found insist on paying in bitcoin as it minimizes the chances of being tracked, which casts further doubts about the authenticity of the drugs they sell. In communications with a supplier, they offered to sell an unspecified Covid-19 vaccine for 0.01 BTC (around $ 300) and claimed that 14 doses were required. This advice contradicts official announcements that some vaccines require two injections, 3 weeks apart, per person. ”
1k + new domains
November’s positive news about vaccine trials and impending availability has led to a surge in new Covid-19-related or vaccine-related web domains, the report reads. Check Point said 1,062 new domains containing the word “vaccine” have been registered since the beginning of November. Of these, 400 also contain “covid” or “corona”.
These figures are equivalent to the figures for the previous three months (August, September and October) combined, the report said. It also found that, in addition to trying to sell bogus vaccines, cybercriminals are also using vaccine-related news as bait for phishing campaigns.
Some emails were found delivering malicious ‘.exe files’ with the name ‘Download_Covid 19 New Vaccines Approved 23.07.2020.exe’ which installs an InfoStealer capable of collecting login information, user names and passwords to allow threat actors take over the accounts.
2021 threat perception
Calling the pandemic an ultra-rare but high-impact event that has derailed business, the firm said a separate investigation showed 58% of security professionals reported an increase in cyber threats since the shutdowns were imposed.
Hackers have also tried to take advantage of the disruption caused by the pandemic and “pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines will also continue to be targeted by malicious attacks from criminals or nation-states seeking to exploit the situation,” the report reads.
Aside from this, a variety of phishing activities have been predicted, including targeting parents with remote learning and an increase in malware attacks.
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