Cyber-attacks, the most fearsome during the Qatar 2022 World Cup!

In the last few years, the implementation of the Internet has improved and transformed how people and organizations interact. In today’s world, it is possible to follow a soccer match live from a mobile device. You can check the results of the match, buy a plane ticket, pay and book a ticket to go to the stadium all at once.

The World Cup has seen an exponential increase in fraudulent e-mails, malicious files and connections to unsecured networks that seek to steal people’s data and sensitive information, as well as users’ and companies’ money.

In one of its latest studies, the sports research agency “Marketing Registrado” estimated that the World Cup’s total revenue would be around 17 billion dollars. Similarly, it is expected that the event (which will be held from November 20 to December 18, 2022) will be attended by more than 1.2 million travellers (almost half the population of Qatar, around 2.8 million people).

Recently, the Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team (Q-Cert), an automated threat monitoring system that collects stability-related data, was set up. To this end, 25,000 employees have been trained in areas related to technological stability. However, there are still concerns about the cybersecurity dangers to which the territory of Qatar, the main venue for the World Cup, continues to be exposed.

• Repercussions that the World Cup could have on the industrial sector:

Some of the repercussions that organizations in the industrial sector could have with attacks throughout the development of the World Cup are:

1. Theft of information.
2. Operational disruptions due to the use of vectors.
3. Specific malware.
4. Damage to networks or infrastructures such as sensors and diagnostic, stability, measurement and monitoring systems.

“Adopting a proactive stance concerning cybersecurity involves companies assuming that they may be involved leading up to the World Cup, and working to show otherwise”, mentioned Germán Patiño, Vice President of Sales for Latin America at Lumu Technologies.

• Our infallible tips to reduce the risk of attacks:

As we already mentioned, during the development of one of the world’s largest events, the cyber risks to which we are exposed increase exponentially, which is why we offer you the following tips so that you can avoid being a victim of these catastrophic attacks on the network:

1. Protect your data with 2-Step Authentication: 2-Step Authentication is an additional layer of security to the authentication process on your devices or online accounts through the request at the login of an auto-generated six-digit code or token in addition to your password. Knowing the victim’s password alone will not be enough for attackers. In the case of cell phones, some devices are capable of fingerprint recognition, a built-in camera used for facial recognition or iris scanning, and a microphone can be used for voice recognition.
2. Learn how to identify Phishing: Phishing refers to the capture of personal data by deception over the Internet. Most phishing attacks begin with a receipt e-mail or direct message in which the sender impersonates a real bank, company or other organization to deceive the recipient. The purpose is always for the user to voluntarily give their personal and banking details to the scammer.
3. Protect the data on your smart devices: Most people have a large number of devices that they access regularly and carry wherever they go, from smartphones to smartwatches and more.
4. Don’t forget to use DNS filtering: When you configure DNS filtering on a WiFi hotspot, you can protect devices that connect there from being severely damaged by botnet, ransomware, malware or phishing attacks that allow hackers to steal corporate and personal data. In addition, you will be able to filter unwanted content such as pornography, violence, and content associated with drug use. You can also block sites that consume a lot of bandwidth, such as Netflix or others.

Source: ComputerWeekly.es