Cyber threats emerging from the Russian Ukraine War
“In this war, we are seeing cyberattacks from both Russia and Ukraine,” Network Security Professional from Avast commented.
“And on top of that, a number of cybercriminals are taking advantage of the situation in order to scam good-willed users that want to help the victims of Russia's invasion.
As we all know, the internet has no borders, and this is the perfect example of that. It doesn't matter where in the world we are, any of us could become an unintended victim.”
Ukraine-themed crypto scams asking your crypto donations
Avast has tracked a number of scammers who are tricking people out of money by pretending they are Ukrainians in desperate need of financial help.
This scam and others like it have been spreading on TikTok and other social media sites.
Just like the typical commonplace scams where bad actors pretend to be lonely hearts or travelers in a bad situation, these malicious tricks play on users’ kindness.
While some Ukrainians may be truly asking for help this way, it’s virtually impossible to deduce if a person is a scammer or not.
It is recommended by security professionals people only donate through official, trusted organizations directly on their websites, as opposed to links shared on social media.
Avoid joining DDoS attacks in aid of Ukraine
There seem to be initiatives being shared through social media that encourage everyday users to become hackers by downloading “simple tools” that allow them to support DDoS attacks on Russian targets.
Initially, this kind of “hacktivism” might seem like the right thing to do, but this is very highly risky things.
First of all, DDoS attacks are illegal, ensuring your security while using such tools is difficult to achieve.
When you implement these “simple tools,” you risk your privacy. Plus, there is no guarantee that your effort will go towards helping Ukraine.
Ransomeware HermeticRansom
One cyberattack being used against the people of Ukraine is a data destroyer called HermeticWiper. Please update your vaccine with latest version.
Source: Avast