COVID-19 Incident Response Teams

DIGITPOL offers free cyber services to hospitals battling COVID-19 - COVID-19 Incident Response Teams

Digitpol, the global cyber security firm has offered to provide cyber security services to hospitals battling Covid19 at no cost, Digitpol acts in response to increased attacks targeting the healthcare sector. Digitpol said cyber security incident response support is now available free of charge to hospitals if an incident occurs.

The COVID-19 Incident Response Teams provided include a rapid cyber security assessment, rapid remote deployment of incident response tools, penetration tests, digital forensics on compromised devices and containment and remediation of the attack.

Cyber criminals and malicious actors are launching large scale cyber-attacks against the health sector and front-line business, the cyber-attacks are focused on security vulnerabilities. The fact that hospitals are already under pressure due to the coronavirus, hospitals across the globe need help to respond to cyber related crimes, cyber threats rapidly. The work of global hospitals is vital and its our commitment to assist with our knowledge and tools, so we can contribute towards the health sector as they carry out important work in the fight against COVID-19.

Criminal gangs are exploiting the corona virus to commit cyber related crimes. During this period, Digitpol has appointed an incident response team to provide rapid response to the health sector, hospitals and front-line business that are affected by a cyber-attack, data breach, malware or other forms of cyber-attacks.

If your organisation has suffered a cyber-attack, contact Digitpol for assistance

The public are being urged to follow online safety advice as evidence emerges that criminals are exploiting weakness related to the Coronavirus online. Digitpol's advice is for the public to follow only information from government sources such as your local government or national government website and to avoid information published elsewhere. Cyber criminals are using the internet to spread misinformation with content that contains links to malicious content.

Coronavirus phishing scams started circulating in January, preying on fear and confusion about the virus and they've only proliferated since. Last week, Brno University Hospital in the Czech Republic a major Covid-19 testing hub suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted operations and caused surgery postponements, even sophisticated nation state hackers have been using pandemic-related traps to spread their malware.

Experts from the National Cyber Security Centre have revealed a range of attacks being perpetrated online as cyber criminals seek to exploit COVID-19. Techniques seen since the start of the year include bogus emails with links claiming to have important updates, which once clicked on lead to devices being infected. These \'phishing\' attempts have been seen in several countries and can lead to loss of money and sensitive data. These attacks are versatile and can be conducted through various media, adapted to different sectors and monetized via multiple means, including ransomware, credential theft, bitcoin or fraud.

Due to the coronavirus, people are working from home on personal devices and issued laptops, the key security risk is the lack of cyber security systems in personal environments. Critical issues such as unsecured Wi-Fi, LAN and additional devices on the same network with weaker security all pose a risk when staff operate commercial or enterprise applications from their homes. Digitpol has secured many networks, provided secured Wi-Fi routers, VPN and secured WIFI / home internet environments.

When Digitpol is engaged, we ensure that no digital evidence is overlooked and assist at any stage of an investigation, regardless of the size or location of data sources. Claims of leaks, fraud, cyber espionage, financial tampering, computer crime, employee misconduct, and other illegal or wrongdoing actions require corporations, law firms, and government agencies to deploy digital forensic methods to piece together facts that lead to the truth.

The COVID-19 ransomware threat

Ransomware continues to be one of the most severe threats facing organizations of all kinds, especially as attack methods continue to evolve. Like any criminal enterprise, the gangs behind the operation of ransomware will exploit current concerns to infect victims. The coronavirus pandemic is, sadly, not exempt from this. We've already seen COVID-19 infection distribution maps laced with malware, and the U.S. Attorney, Scott Brady, has warned people to be wary of an "unprecedented" wave of coronavirus scams.

Lawrence Abrams, the creator of Bleeping Computer, reached out to the cybercrime groups behind the operation of some of the most prolific and dangerous ransomware threats. Abrams asked a simple question: will you continue to target health and medical organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic? At the time of writing, two had replied and their answers might surprise many readers. The first to respond were the operators of the Doppel Paymer ransomware threat, who told Abrams that they "always try to avoid hospitals, nursing homes." When attacking local government targets, they "do not touch 911," although sometimes emergency communications are hit due to network miss-configurations.

Are you effected by a Coronavirus Cyber Crime? 

WHEN TO CONTACT US?

• • Your organization has been affected by ransomware, malware or forms of attacks

• • Unauthorized persons may have access to your devices, network or accounts

• • Sensitive personal or medical data may have been leaked

• • You have urgent cybersecurity questions

Contact Digitpol's hotlines or respond to us online. 

Phone: UK: +44 20 8089 9944

Phone: Europe: +31 55 8448040

Phone Asia: +852 3973 3884

EMAIL: cci@digitpol.com

• • When emailing Digitpol to avail of this service, contact us using an authorised domain from the healthcare sector. Emails received from Gmail/yahoo will not be responded to.