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Guide to good practices for responding to the impact of COVID-19

Manel Álvarez, Head of Cybersecurity

Cyber crime is on the rise in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Advice for users.

As a general rule, teleworking is a flexible measure that organisations can use to generate increases in productivity, improve work-life balances, promote the inclusion of groups at risk of exclusion from the labour market, contribute to territorial cohesion by creating employment opportunities in rural or economically depressed areas, and, reduce commuting to the workplace, which is beneficial to the environment.

Cyber criminals are attacking more frequently in the wake of the current social alert caused by COVID-19, taking advantage of two factors:

• Teleworking
• Social anxiety and vulnerability

General instructions and advice for users

I would like to remind you of some essential guidelines to protect your safety:

• Verify the identity of whoever is sending you an email:
• Does it end in .com, .es, .org, etc.?
• Is the email address long, short, made up of numbers, etc.?
• Is the email address familiar?
• If something seems suspicious about an email, contact the sender through another channel (e.g. phone) to check the authenticity of the message.
• Check the domain of the sender’s email address and that their name matches their email account (name and domain).
• Pay attention to the spelling of any website links sent to you by email. One different letter can make a difference.
• Be wary of emails with badly written or misspelled text.
• Make sure the link you click is the official one for the page you want to visit. For example, the only official WHO link is https://www.who.int.
• Take particular care over who you share personal information with.
• When accessing websites via search engines, before entering personal data, always check that it is the official website and not a secondary site that’s collecting your information.
• Think before you act. Take a moment to check what you are reading, what you are being asked for and what you will be accessing.
• Do not follow instructions from any stranger.
• Avoid opening attachments if the sender is unknown or the document is unexpected.
• Avoid opening documents and attachments about COVID-19 in incoming emails.
• Do not download unofficial applications for learning about the international scope of COVID-19.
• Do not enter personal data on websites if their links have been shortened (cort.as, bit.ly, etc.).
• Use one browser for banking and official business, and a different one for regular browsing.

Specific issues

I’ll give you some more information on different types of attacks, so you can be better prepared.

Phishing / spam campaigns

These are campaigns that impersonate health or government agencies and attach malicious files to try and spread malware.

Some examples:

• spam campaigns trying to convince you to purchase health-related products.
• Ransomware attacks against health agencies such as WHO or even the appearance of new ransomware families, such as “Coronavirus” ransomware.

Recommendations

• Check the domain of the sender’s email (after the @).
• Look out for fraudulent domains, eg. faceboook.com / facebo0k.com.
• Check links to check the destination before you click on them.
• Check for spelling mistakes.
• Check if the email is addressed to you personally.
• Check if the email is written in an understandable language.
• Ask others if they have received a similar email.
• Confirm the legitimacy of the email with a superior.
• Do not forward a suspicious email to a colleague.
• Alert security teams immediately.

Impersonation of corporate teams

Recommendations

• Wherever possible, we would recommend avoiding the use of personal devices for performing ALTIMA tasks.
• Always use corporate equipment, as personal equipment may not be protected by corporate security systems.
• Avoid the use of non-corporate or non-standard programs.

Use of personal computers

Recommendations

If you have no alternative and need to use a personal device to perform ALTIMA tasks, make sure you follow these instructions:

• Make sure you’ve installed the latest updates of the operating system you’re using.
• Update your antivirus software as often as possible, both on computers and perimeter devices.
• Prioritise the use of two-factor authentication for accessing systems, equipment, remote access software, etc.
• Make sure that the antivirus scans USB devices that are connected to remote computers.
• Have readily available phone lists for contacting different people.
• Avoid downloading and using free or user-based VPNs.
• Avoid using non-corporate or non-standard applications.
• When remote working, use the access methods and collaborative tools that have been expressly authorised for this purpose.