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Title

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cybercrime

Journal title

Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences Technical Sciences

Yearbook

2021

Volume

69

Issue

4

Authors

Gryszczyńska, Agnieszka

Keywords

cybersecurity ; cybercrime ; social engineering ; phishing ; identity theft ; COVID-19

Divisions of PAS

Nauki Techniczne

Coverage

e137933

Bibliography

  1.  “Agari H2 2020 Email Fraud Report”. [Online]. Available: https://www.agari.com/cyber-intelligence-research/e-books/agari-h2-2020-email- fraud-report.pdf [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  2.  “IC3 Internet Crime Report 2019”, p. 9. [Online]. Available: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2019_IC3Report.pdf [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  3.  “Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2020” [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/ main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2020 [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], hereinafter as: IOCTA 2020.
  4.  “How COVID-19-related crime infected Europe during 2020” [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/ how-covid-19-related-crime-infected-europe-during-2020 [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  5.  Rise of fake ‘corona cures’ revealed in global counterfeit medicine operation. [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/ news/rise-of-fake-%E2%80%98corona-cures%E2%80 %99-revealed-in-global-counterfeit-medicine-operation [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  6.  Warnings about fake online shops are published on consumer or cybersecurity websites. Sample fake online shop search engine: “Suspicious online shops!” [Online]. Available: https://www.legalniewsieci.pl/aktualnosci/podejrzane-sklepy-internetowe [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], [in Polish].
  7.  Criminal Code of June 6, 1997 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1444, as amended), hereinafter CC.
  8.  Already on 16 March 2020, criminals created a fraudulent fundraiser in Poland at https://pomoc.siepomaga.net/koronawirus?SS52.
  9.  “Annual Report on the Activities of CERT Poland. Security Landscape of the Polish Internet”, 2018, pp. 59–67. [Online]. Available: https:// www.cert.pl/uploads/docs/Raport_CP_2018.pdf [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], [in Polish].
  10.  In connection with the discovered insufficient implementation of technical and organisational measures to secure customer data, by a decision of 10 September 2019, Morele.net Sp. z o.o. was charged with an administrative fine of PLN 2.8 million (Decision of President of the Personal Data Protection Office of 10 September 2019, no. ZSPR.421.2.2019, subsequently upheld by a judgement of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of 3 September 2020, no. II SA/Wa 2559/19, [in Polish].
  11.  Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 11 March 2020 on the temporary restriction of the functioning of educational facilities in relation to preventing, counteracting and combating COVID- 19 (Journal of Laws item 410 as amended), [in Polish].
  12.  Government’s bill to amend the Law on special solutions to prevent, counteract and combat COVID-1  9, other communicable diseases and the resultant crises, and to amend certain other laws, form no. 299 of 26 March 2020. [Online]. Available: http://sejm.gov.pl/Sejm9. nsf/druk.xsp?nr=299 [in Polish].
  13.  A. Gryszczyńska, “The use of COVID- 19 in scenarios of social engineering attacks”, Maritime Security Yearbook, 2021, pp. 137‒161, [Online]. Available: https://wdiom.amw.gdynia.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PT2020v0.13.pdf [in Polish].
  14.  M.S. Islam et al., “COVID- 19-Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis”, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 103(4), 1621–1629, (2020), doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0812.
  15.  J. Tidy, “Dr Reddy’s: Covid vaccine-maker suffers cyber-attack”, BBC, Oct. 22, 2020 [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.com/news/ technology-54642870 [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  16.  “Advisory: APT29 targets COVID- 19 vaccine development”. [Online]. Available: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/Advisory-APT29-targets- COVID-19-vaccine-development.pdf [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  17.  BBC News, “Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine docs hacked from European Medicines Agency”, BBC, Dec. 09, 2020 [Online]. Available: https:// www.bbc.com/news/technology-55249353 [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  18.  “Pandemic profiteering: how criminals exploit the COVID- 19 crisis”. [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications- documents/pandemic-profiteering-how-criminals-exploit-covid-19-crisis [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  19.  Wired, Sep. 19, 2020 [Online]. Available: https://www.wired.com/story/a-patient-dies-after-a-ransomware-attack-hits-a-hospital [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  20.  “Annual Report on the Activities of CERT Poland. Security Landscape of the Polish Internet”, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www. cert.pl/uploads/docs/Raport_CP_2019.pdf [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], [in Polish].
  21.  “Report on the state of Poland’s cybersecurity in 2019”. [Online]. Available: https://csirt.gov.pl/cer/publikacje/raporty-o-stanie- bezpi/969,Raport-o-stanie-bezpieczenstwa-cyberprzestrzeni-RP-w-2019-roku.html [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], [in Polish].
  22.  A. Pérez-Escoda, C. Jiménez-Narros, M. Perlado-Lamo-de-Espinosa, and L. Miguel Pedrero-Esteban, “Social Networks Engagement During the COVID-1  9 Pandemic in Spain: Health Media vs. Healthcare Professionals”, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17(14), (2020), doi: 10.3390/ijerph17145261.
  23.  GWI Coronavirus Research, March 2020 Series 2: Travel & Commuting, GWI Connecting the dots 2021; The biggest COVID- 19 trends that are here to stay. [Online]. Available: https://www.globalwebindex.com [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  24.  “Information society in Poland in 2020”, Central Statistical Office, [Online]. Available: https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/nauka-i- technika-spoleczenstwo-informacyjne/spoleczenstwo-informacyjne/spoleczenstwo-informacyjne-w-polsce-w-2020 -roku,1,14.html [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021], [in Polish].
  25.  “IOCTA 2020”, pp. 6‒7, 13‒17 (2020). [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/internet_organised_ crime_threat_assessment_iocta_2020.pdf.
  26.  For example in 2013 the Silk Road has been seized: “Ross Ulbricht, the Creator and Owner of the Silk Road Website, Found Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court on All Counts — FBI”. [Online]. Available: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press- releases/ross-ulbricht-the-creator-and-owner-of-the-silk-road-website-found-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-on-all-counts [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  27.  “Cybercriminals’ favourite VPN taken down in global action”. [Online]. Available: https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/ cybercriminals%E2%80%99-favourite-vpn-taken-down-in-global-action [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  28.  “21 arrests in nationwide cyber crackdown”. [Online]. Available: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18970445.21-arrests-nationwide- crackdown-website-selling-stolen-personal-data/ [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  29.  Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations in view of an agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on cross-border access to electronic evidence for judicial cooperation in criminal matters, COM/2019/70 final.
  30.  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Production and Preservation Orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters, COM/2018/225 final – 2018/0108 (COD).
  31.  Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on the appointment of legal representatives for the purpose of gathering evidence in criminal proceedings, COM/2018/226 final – 2018/0107 (COD).
  32.  A. Gryszczyńska, “Acquisition and analysis of data on cybersecurity incidents”, Internet. Data analyst, G. Szpor, Ed., C.H. Beck, Warsaw, 2019, pp. 296‒313, [in Polish].
  33.  “Information society in Poland in 2020”, p. 156, [in Polish].
  34.  “Comparative study on filtering, blocking and take-down of illegal content on the Internet”, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, 2015, [Online]. Available: https://edoc.coe.int/en/internet/7289-pdf-comparative-study-on-blocking-filtering-and-take-down-of-illegal-internet- content-.html [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].
  35.  Law of 24 May 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and the Intelligence Agency (Journal of Laws of 2020 item 27 as amended), [in Polish].
  36.  Law of 19 November 2009 on Gambling (Journal of Laws of 2020 item 2094), [in Polish].
  37.  P. Dęba, “Multi-vector protection of Internet users as illustrated by the Orange Cyber Shield”, presented at the 12th Scientific Conference Security in the Internet – Cyber Pandemic, UKSW, Warsaw, Oct. 22‒23, 2020, [in Polish].
  38.  Index of domains. [Online]. Available: https://hole.cert.pl/domains/ [Accessed: 15-Jun-2021].

Date

26.07.2021

Type

Article

Identifier

DOI: 10.24425/bpasts.2021.137933
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