Imagine you get a social-media message from a trusted friend asking for help with a cause — like helping Ukrainian war refugees, or helping hurricane victims. “Just go to this link,” the message says.
Only it’s not your trusted friend, but an internet scammer. And instead of going to the site of a reputable charity, you’ve given the scammer access he can use to steal information, raid bank accounts or disable your computer — or your company’s network — until you pay a ransom.
Amid the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, cybersecurity experts are on high alert for an increase in scams and cyberattacks, said Zach Eikenberry, co-founder and CEO at the Lakeland-based cybersecurity firm Hook Security Inc.
“With any big issue or tragedy that comes up, there’s going to be a number of scams that immediately hit the market,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are professional scammer organizations, and they wait for these kind of things.”
There are about 30,000 cyberattacks daily in the U.S., and that equals 30 million cyberattacks annually, “among the most common crime globally,” according to a Hook Security blog. The “phishing” scam described above, in which a scammer disguised as a trusted friend or company tricks someone into giving them critical access to their network, is among the most common
And there is a shortage of the good guys. An Information Systems Security Association International report in July 2020 said 70% of organizations are impacted by a…
