An overview of cybersecurity risks during the COVID-19 pandemic period

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected lives of billions of people around the world. The pandemic has and will continue to transform and shape the digital world. New measures are being taken to cope with social distancing norms prevalent around the world. Booming telecommuting, dependence on e-services, virtual events, movement of infrastructure to clouds have become common. All these changes have severe security implications. This paper analyses how people can be affected from the cybersecurity aspect. It highlights some of the most common methods by which people can be manipulated into revealing information resulting in loss/theft of money and/or intellectual properties. It also spells out some common measures that can be taken to dispel much of the risks. Overall, this presented study has tried to highlight most of the potential threats in the digital platform with specific supporting data. Additionally, the paper also focuses on some effective mechanisms to handle these critical issues especially in this pandemic situation of COVID-19.