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Cyber Risks · Unit 42 Palo Alto Networks

Fake Websites Used in COVID-19 Themed Phishing Attacks, Impersonating Brands Like Pfizer and BioNTech

Summary: Unit 42 analyzed phishing URLs detected globally between January 2020 and February 2021 and found 69,950 tied to COVID-related topics, of which 33,447 were directly linked to COVID-19. Attackers shifted themes with the news cycle - PPE and testing kits in early 2020, government stimulus programs from April through summer 2020, and vaccines from late fall 2020 onward - with vaccine-related phishing up 530% from December 2020 to February 2021 and pharmacy and hospital phishing up 189% over the same period.

Key Takeaway: The campaign included a fake Pfizer and BioNTech site harvesting Office 365 credentials and a fake 'U.S. Trading Commission' page collecting Social Security and driver's license numbers, and Unit 42 found no evidence any of it succeeded - but the 530% rise in vaccine-themed attacks targeted the healthcare sector specifically as the rollout continued.

Read the original at Unit 42 Palo Alto Networks ↗

Topics
Malware
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