Cybercrime and misinformation

Cybercrime is evolving and growing in response to the COVID19 pandemic. Online fraud, extortion and online child sexual abuse targets individuals whilst ransomware primarily compromises systems – including hospitals. Governments will continue to be targeted by malware. The increasing spread of misinformation and disinformation will continue to confuse the public and undermine the scientific response.

Home-based working has increased the potential cybercrime victim-pool. People take greater risks online at home which inadvertently exposes corporate IT to cybercriminals. Phishing will continue to enable malicious access to critical systems for criminals and other advanced actors.

The quantity of specialist law enforcement counter-cybercrime personnel will be reduced throughout most of 2020. Cybercrime will increase in the short-term, and victims will likely face delays in achieving justice. Cybercriminals will exploit perceived operational gaps. Counterintuitively, this will create tactical and strategic law-enforcement opportunities.

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