The Infodemic: Infomania, Social Engineering and the Pandemic – Break the Chain
Infomania is a syndrome of the present. At a time of crisis or emergency, the information ‘hunger’ shoots up, the Internet being the primary feed. Amidst the lockdown, to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic and the increase in telecommuting, cyberspace has become more active than ever, and online interactions have skyrocketed. Producing and propagating all kinds of information related to the pandemic has become an agenda of many, which has now turned into what WHO calls – “Infodemic.” The COVID-19 pandemic has created an Infodemic in a direct proportion.
Cyber attackers have jumped in to monetize the situation by exploiting the infomania to carry out social engineering campaigns ranging from simple threats to more demanding ransomware attacks.
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The weakest link in any security system is the human being.”
Social Engineering works on the principle of ‘exploiting the weakest link.’ It tricks the user into revealing confidential information by carrying them to a custom platform to execute the attack. A majority of successful cyberattacks uses a combination of social engineering strategies and technology implementations. By mindless consumption and sharing of information, we may become the nodes of propagation of potential threats.
Let’s Break this Chain too! Just like washing your hands, best practices of information hygiene need to be followed in cyberspace also.
“Always be a smart and responsible consumer or supplier of internet resources.”
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The Infodemic_ Infomania, Social Engineering and the Pandemic - Break the Chain.epub
