Cybersecurity Attacks during Covid-19: An Analysis of the Behavior of the Human Factors and a Proposal of Hardening Strategies

Roberto Omar Andrade Paredes; Maria Fernanda Cazares Zabala; Walter Fuertes

Cybersecurity Attacks during Covid-19: An Analysis of the Behavior of the Human Factors and a Proposal of Hardening Strategies

Roberto Omar Andrade Paredes
, Maria Fernanda Cazares Zabala
, Walter Fuertes

Grupo de Investigación Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales Inteligencia Artificial Geoportales y Computación Aplicada (IDE IA GEO CA)

Research output: Chapter

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, las noticias falsas han aumentado considerablemente. Si bien las fake news son un problema social que existe desde hace mucho tiempo, en el contexto del COVID-19 ha puesto en riesgo la vida de las personas. Hoy en día, se dispone de una gran cantidad de información y las organizaciones intentan enviar comunicados oficiales a los ciudadanos. Sin embargo, algunos factores pueden apoyar la decisión de las personas de aceptar una idea como real aunque sea arriesgada. Este estudio es una investigación exploratoria y descriptiva que tiene como objetivo establecer los factores humanos que hacen que el usuario estándar sea susceptible a los ataques cibernéticos en tiempos de pandemia. Durante la investigación se aplicó primero una revisión bibliográfica de los ataques de ciberseguridad y escenarios de conflicto registrados durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Luego de codificarlos, se aplicó el Modelo Diamond, que representa el análisis de las intrusiones de ciberseguridad, que enfatiza las relaciones y características de los cuatro elementos principales de una intrusión: adversario, infraestructura, capacidad y víctima. Con este aporte, se proponen varias estrategias innovadoras para minimizar los ataques de los actores de amenazas avanzadas y su impacto en los usuarios. Estas estrategias son útiles para que los gobiernos mejoren la comunicación con los ciudadanos y desarrollen el pensamiento crítico de los ciudadanos frente a las noticias falsas.

Translated title of the contribution	Ataques de ciberseguridad durante el Covid-19: un análisis del comportamiento de los factores humanos y una propuesta de estrategias de endurecimiento
Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Advances in Cybersecurity Management
Publisher	Springer
Pages	37-53
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Print)	978-303071381-2
Publication status	Published - 23 Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

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abstract = "During the COVID-19 pandemic, fake news has increased considerably. Although fake news is a social problem that has existed for a long time, in the COVID-19 context, it has put people's lives at risk. Nowadays, a massive amount of information is available, and organizations attempt to send official statements to citizens. However, some factors can support people's decision to accept an idea as real even though it will be risky. This study is exploratory and descriptive research that aims to establish the human factors that make the standard user susceptible to cyber-attacks in times of pandemic. A literature review of cybersecurity attacks and conflict scenarios registered during the COVID-19 pandemic was first applied during the investigation. After coding them, the Diamond Model was applied, representing the analysis of cybersecurity intrusions, which emphasizes the relationships and features of the four main elements of an intrusion: adversary, infrastructure, capacity, and victim. With this input, several innovative strategies are proposed to minimize attacks by advanced threat actors and their impact on users. These strategies are useful for governments to improve communication with citizens and develop critical thinking on citizens to face fake news.",

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AU - Andrade Paredes, Roberto Omar

AU - Cazares Zabala, Maria Fernanda

AU - Fuertes, Walter

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N2 - During the COVID-19 pandemic, fake news has increased considerably. Although fake news is a social problem that has existed for a long time, in the COVID-19 context, it has put people's lives at risk. Nowadays, a massive amount of information is available, and organizations attempt to send official statements to citizens. However, some factors can support people's decision to accept an idea as real even though it will be risky. This study is exploratory and descriptive research that aims to establish the human factors that make the standard user susceptible to cyber-attacks in times of pandemic. A literature review of cybersecurity attacks and conflict scenarios registered during the COVID-19 pandemic was first applied during the investigation. After coding them, the Diamond Model was applied, representing the analysis of cybersecurity intrusions, which emphasizes the relationships and features of the four main elements of an intrusion: adversary, infrastructure, capacity, and victim. With this input, several innovative strategies are proposed to minimize attacks by advanced threat actors and their impact on users. These strategies are useful for governments to improve communication with citizens and develop critical thinking on citizens to face fake news.

AB - During the COVID-19 pandemic, fake news has increased considerably. Although fake news is a social problem that has existed for a long time, in the COVID-19 context, it has put people's lives at risk. Nowadays, a massive amount of information is available, and organizations attempt to send official statements to citizens. However, some factors can support people's decision to accept an idea as real even though it will be risky. This study is exploratory and descriptive research that aims to establish the human factors that make the standard user susceptible to cyber-attacks in times of pandemic. A literature review of cybersecurity attacks and conflict scenarios registered during the COVID-19 pandemic was first applied during the investigation. After coding them, the Diamond Model was applied, representing the analysis of cybersecurity intrusions, which emphasizes the relationships and features of the four main elements of an intrusion: adversary, infrastructure, capacity, and victim. With this input, several innovative strategies are proposed to minimize attacks by advanced threat actors and their impact on users. These strategies are useful for governments to improve communication with citizens and develop critical thinking on citizens to face fake news.

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KW - Hardening strategies

KW - Human factor behavior

KW - Covid-19

KW - Fake news

KW - Hardening strategies

KW - Human factor behavior

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PB - Springer

ER -

Cybersecurity Attacks during Covid-19: An Analysis of the Behavior of the Human Factors and a Proposal of Hardening Strategies

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Areas de Conocimiento del CACES

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