Intelligent CISO Issue 26 | Page 9

news Mimecast report shows key trends in malicious activity over the first 100 days of COVID-19 their activities. According to a new Mimecast report entitled 100 Days of Coronavirus that tracks cybercrime activity since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, the volume of malicious and opportunistic cybercrime across all types of cybercrime has increased significantly by 33% in the period January–March 2020. The report provides a clear picture of how malicious actors are exploiting opportunities and provides a detailed analysis of all the trends across various regions, seen by the Mimecast Threat Intelligence team. Carl Wearn, Head of E-Crime at Mimecast hile the world has been focused on managing the W healthcare, economic and social consequences of the novel Coronavirus, a war has been quietly raging as cybercriminals leverage the crisis to escalate The new report has found that, in the period January– March 2020, monthly volumes of: spam and opportunistic cybercrime detections increased by 26.3%; impersonation fraud detections increased by 30.3%; malware detections increased by 35.16% and blocking of URL clicks increased by 55.8%, meaning people are more likely now to click on unsafe links than before the outbreak. Carl Wearn, Head of E-Crime at Mimecast, said: “Many employees that suddenly find themselves working from home are not sufficiently equipped or aware of cyberthreats and may put their organisations at risk by engaging in unsafe behaviour.” UAE INTERNET USERS TRY TO REMOVE PRIVATE INFORMATION FROM WEBSITES OR SOCIAL MEDIA ew Kaspersky research has N found that consumers around the world want to take more action to protect and maintain control over their personal privacy. As revealed in the company’s latest report, Defending Digital Privacy: Taking Personal Protection To The Next Level, consumers are becoming more aware of where their personal data is available online. In fact, 84% in the UAE say they have tried to remove private information from websites or social media channels. However, a third (33%) have no idea how to go about it. These findings reveal how protecting the privacy of our personal data and interactions online is to make sure we all continue to benefit from technology. The report, which includes findings from a new consumer survey carried out in 23 countries, examines current consumer attitudes towards online privacy and what steps people are taking to keep private information from falling into the wrong hands. Consumers have shown that it is not just their private information they are worried about, but that of their loved ones’ too. For instance, the report reveals that 31% of consumers claim that their personal data or information about their family has become publicly available without their consent. Such occurrences are pushing consumers into making conscious choices about how and where their personal data is stored, to stop it being viewed or used by others who do not have permission to do so. www.intelligentciso.com | Issue 26 9