Analysis of Cybercrime and Cyber Attacks during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was a remarkable and unprecedented event that changed the lives of billions of citizens around the world and resulted in what is known as a new term in terms of social norms and lifestyles. In addition to the tremendous impact on society and business in general, the epidemic created a unique set of cybercrime circumstances that also affected society and business. Increased anxiety due to this epidemic increases the probability of success of cyber attacks by increasing the number and scope of cyber attacks. This article analyzes the COVID-19 epidemic from the perspective of cybercrime and highlights the wide range of cyberattacks experienced worldwide during the epidemic. Cyberattacks are analyzed in the context of major global events to reveal how cyberattacks work. This analysis shows how, following what appears to be a large gap between the outbreak in China and the first COVID-19-related cyberattack, attacks are steadily becoming more prevalent than in some on days, 3 or 4 unique cyber attacks were reported. This analysis uses surveys in the UK as a case study to show how cybercriminals use key events and government announcements to build and design cybercrime campaigns.