Doha: The use of technology has increased significantly recently as citizens and residents are staying home to limit the spread of COVID-19 outbreak. But, the over-dependence on Internet has also exposed individuals and companies to the risk of cyberattacks.
The pandemic has posed security challenges related to cybersecurity as a result of electronic piracy.
To help combat the virus outbreak, most government entities and companies in Qatar are providing their services online.
Othman Salem Al Hamoud, in charge of the tasks of the undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, assistant for cybersecurity said that in light of the current situation, the use of the Internet has increased, which means, in turn, an increased risk of cyber attacks against individuals and companies.
Speaking to Qatar TV, he pointed out that cyberspace is complicated. Who would have thought that a health crisis will have repercussions on cybersecurity, adding that statistics say that there is a significant increase in the use of the Internet in global communication.
He said that criminal networks are developing their operations faster and exploiting all things to their interests.
The Ministry of Communications and Transportation is working on several fronts, including protecting infrastructure from cyberattacks. “In the cyber sector we focus on protecting the state by setting the best policies, procedures and controls to protect the infrastructure from the cyberattacks,” he said.
Government and private entities in Qatar have resorted to the use of social media platforms to spread useful information and educate citizens and residents about the measures taken and guidelines to combat the spread of the virus in the country.
Customers were also encouraged to use mobile services and digital platforms — companies in Qatar launched campaigns through applications, social media, and text messages to urge their customers to use mobile services and avoid exposure to infection.
The adoption of e-learning and the distance learning management system was encouraged to enable schools and educational institutions to interact with students and parents and provide them with digital content to ensure the smoothness of the educational process in light of the current situation.
Even bank customers have become dependent on electronic applications for their transactions, and all these reliance on technology increases the need for caution at the same time.
Recently, fraudulent emails were sent asking people to update their information, but banks asked people to ignore these emails. People also should not share any personnel or financial information with anyone through email, phone, SMS, or suspicious websites .
Data from a global survey held in March 2020 revealed that “70 percent of responding Internet users worldwide were using their smartphones or mobile phones more as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak, though this varied significantly by country.
The survey showed that “In Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom, less than 40 percent of survey participants said that they were using their phone more, but for China and the Philippines the percentage stood at 86 percent. Smart TV and media streaming service usage also varied, with 44 percent of Brazilians using these devices more due to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to just 11 percent of Japanese respondents.”
The Ministry of Interior has urged people not respond to suspicious and anonymous messages that offer prizes or seek personal or banking information. They should also contact the Economic and Cyber Crimes Department via Metrash2 or email to [email protected] in case of receiving such suspicious messages.
In 2018, The Cyber Security Center at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has established electronic link with 18 government institutions aimed at protecting them against cyber attacks. The center targeted to link 100 government and semi-government entities by the end of 2019.
All the governmental institutions are cooperating with the Center in this regard, and the aim is to detect and alert the entities by sending them notifications about any cyberthreats or attacks to take protection and in case if they cannot the center is ready to provide immediate help.
In an article published on the World Economic Forum said that “In a pandemic of this scale — with cases of coronavirus reported in more than 150 countries — dependency on digital communications has multiplied. The Internet has almost instantly become the channel for effective human interaction and the primary way we work, contact and support one another.
Just in the past few days the coronovirus statistics site Worldometers.info and the US Department of Health and Human Services have both been the target of cyberattackers with the intention to disrupt operations and information flow, it added.
Hackers are leveraging the fears surrounding coronavirus in order to carry out cyberattacks on a massive scale, security researchers have warned, said online news media provider ‘Independent’ on its website.
It also said that the company also observed that attackers are beginning to register URLs and create fake websites relating to coronavirus in order to carry out malicious activity.
