Observed Malicious Cyber Criminality During COVID in the African and Arab Regions
summary
Regional CSIRTs report dramatic spikes in COVID-themed attacks: 35.2 million events in one Kenyan quarter (a 152.9% rise), widespread phishing, ransomware and fake relief/vaccine lures, arrests of 13 suspects in Nigeria, and instances of 120 victims in under 24 hours in Tunisia. Exploits include Exchange vulnerabilities, malicious mobile “infection map” apps, and impersonation of WHO/CDC. ICANN’s DNS-TICR project scans gTLD zone files with VirusTotal, Google Safe Browsing and OTX, finds ~360,000 pandemic domains, 247k since May 2020, 4,400 high-confidence reports and 370 confirmed malware/phishing within scope. Recommended fixes: two-factor authentication, mobile device management, cloud EDR/XDR and public–private task forces.
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chapters (5)
- 0:00Start
- 1:33Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola (AUCSEG, NG)
- 13:54Mohamed Ali Benmabrouk (Tunisia, TN)
- 23:33Dr. Haitham Al Hajri (Oman National CERT, TN)
- 31:55Carlos Alvarez (ICANN, US)
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