Google on Wednesday warned that nation-backed hackers are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to target health care organizations and those working to fight the pandemic.

A security team tasked with defending against government-backed cyberattacks on Google and its users said it identified more than a dozen state-sponsored groups using COVID-19 themes as bait in phishing and malware traps.

Early this month, Google reported that it was detecting about 18 million pandemic-themed malware or phishing messages per day and some 240 million COVID-linked spam messages.

"Hackers frequently look at crises as an opportunity, and COVID-19 is no different," Shane Huntley of Google Threat Analysis Group said in a blog post.

Examples of ploys included bogus solicitations for charities; messages crafted to appear as though sent from remote workers, and websites impersonating pages of governments or public health agencies.

Huntley noted that one hacker campaign sent messages to US government workers with phony offers of free meals or delivery options available from fast food franchises because of the pandemic.

Clicking on the emails led to online pages designed to trick people into providing user names and passwords to Google accounts, according to the security team.

Most of the messages were automatically filtered as spam, and steps were taken to block access to deceptive websites asking for credentials, according to Huntley.

"We're not aware of any user having their account compromised by this campaign, but as usual, we notify all targeted users with a 'government-backed attacker' warning," Huntley said.

"We've also seen attackers try to trick people into downloading malware by impersonating health organizations."

Some COVID-19 themed targeting of international health organizations discovered by Google was deemed the work of an Iran-linked group referred to as "Charming Kitten."

Hackers allied under a "Packrat" banner traced to South America were said to have been behind emails linking to a fake World Health Organization website log-in page, according to Huntley.

Google is tightening security at more than 50,000 accounts thought to be in the crosshairs of state-sponsored hackers, according to the California-based internet firm.

"Generally, we're not seeing an overall rise in phishing attacks by government-backed groups; this is just a change in tactics," Huntley said.

US and British security agencies earlier this month issued similar warnings, saying some 2,500 web addresses were linked to various fraud schemes.

Facebook adds location of posts to curb state-led manipulation
Washington (AFP) April 22, 2020 - Facebook said Wednesday it would include the location of postings from some "high-reach" accounts in a stepped-up effort to boost transparency and curb state-sponsored election manipulation efforts.

The move adds to efforts made by the leading social network to give users more context and information about messages aimed at influencing politics and comes following a massive foreign influence campaign in the 2016 US election on social media.

Facebook said that from 2018 it began offering information about people managing a page on Facebook and Instagram and where they are located.

"Today, we're going a step further to provide the location of high-reach Facebook pages and Instagram accounts on every post they share, so people have more information to help them gauge the reliability and authenticity of the content they see in their feeds," said a blog post from the Facebook and Instagram product managers.

"These changes are part of our broader efforts to protect elections and increase transparency on Facebook and Instagram so people can make more informed decisions about the posts they read, trust and share."

The new feature will be tested in the United States initially and will focus on posts made from outside the country.

Facebook and other social networks have been struggling to root out "inauthentic" content, including messages that appear to be from a local political entity but are in fact from foreign actors.

Both Facebook and Twitter have blocked state-linked accounts operated in Russia, China, Iran and elsewhere for posting under false pretenses.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Key witness testifies in Moscow espionage trial of US ex-marine
Moscow (AFP) April 20, 2020
The key witness for the prosecution appeared in a Russian court on Monday to testify in the high-profile trial of a former US marine charged with espionage, news agencies reported. The trial of Paul Whelan, 50, is continuing behind closed doors in a Moscow court despite the coronavirus pandemic and diplomatic protests. Whelan's lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told news agency Interfax that the witness had testified against Whelan. The lawyer did not provide further details of the session but sai ... read more