People are bound to stay at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and nothing will be the same after it ends. It has badly affected the world economy and global business market place. During this time, when almost every country is in the lockdown phase, several organizations are trying to survive by asking their workers to work from home. It is a favorable time for hackers, and most of them are after VPNs.
The main reason behind targeting VPN is that almost every person is using a VPN for protecting browsing activity on the internet from cyber attackers. VPNs are also useful in accessing restricted sites. And during this lockdown use of VPNs has tremendously increased.
According to researchers, cyber attackers are trying to manipulate VPN users into installing and downloading viruses as they present themselves, legitimate VPN clients. On the other hand, some VPN apps available on play store, chrome store, or other sites are nothing more than a scam.
Increased use of VPNs has increased risk of cyber attacks:
More and more workers are relying on VPNs, and this has increased the risk of cyber-attacks. The technology departments of some organizations are too busy to handle other problems that they did not bother to update the company’s security policy, resulting in some serious outcomes. Here is how attackers trap the prey:
Fake websites
There are now tons of fake VPN websites on the internet. When you try to install a VPN from any of these websites, you end up installing huge malware. As a result, it starts stealing your browser profiles, cryptocurrency wallets, desktop files, and other credentials, depending on the type of malware. In some cases, they can also access chat sessions, login credentials, history, cookies, saved passwords, etc. It is not safe at all, especially for those who are working from home with sensitive information.
Fake reviews
People from all around the world use apple and android stores. No doubt, android has the maximum number of users from all around the world; that is why it is more likely to get affected by hackers. An application that has more reviews and has maximum users is more trust-able for others. So here is what hackers do:
- They spread fake reviews about their application to rank it on the top so that more people download these apps.
- They propagate their applications on play store and app store by manipulating algorithms.
When people see that an application has so much download and a lot of good reviews, they prefer to install these apps and then become a victim of cyber-attacks.
Free VPNs
The internet is full of free VPNs, and when a person has a free option, he does not want to prefer a paid VPN. Although some of these free VPNs are secure, not all of them, most of them are a way to steal your information. So it would be better to avoid these VPNs and find those which are as secure as NordVPN.
How can you save yourself from Hackers?
During this pandemic for most, it is necessary to work from home, but it is equally necessary to protect our personal and work data from cyber-attacks. To be honest, it is not only about employees; it is equally important for everyone to protect their data from hackers. On a broader scale, it is the organization’s responsibility to update and provide better security policies to their workers. But at an individual level, a secure VPN can work well.
Recently Google has kicked out a VPN app with over a million downloads, but it made users vulnerable. They are doing what they can; it is the responsibility of workers and common people to do whole research before installing any VPN from the internet.
Final verdict
When you download and install a VPN, it takes over control of your incoming and outgoing data. So you need to be careful while choosing a VPN, it should be as reliable and secure as NordVPN (review). This lockdown phase is not easy for everyone, and hackers are even more aggressive to attack their prey then ever so outcomes can be serious if you don’t take care of your security.
