In parallel with Covid-19, which weakened teams and security, cybercriminals are organising into efficient networks. They have states, institutions (hospitals, town halls), but also retail brands on a hunting list. There are many examples, including Lise Charmel in receivership after a cyber-attack, the shutdown of e-commerce at Media Markt, a V.S.E. hacked at Co-op in Sweden and theft of customer data at Sephora. The blackmail of ‘denial of service’ which overwhelms e-commerce sites with a flood of requests, generated by bots (automats) is common. Several brands have been forced to pay ransoms to obtain an antidote to viruses blocking computer networks and warehouses.
“Everyone can be affected, especially small and medium-sized businesses that are less equipped to fight such crimes,” says Jean-Jacques Latour, head of expertise at cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, a public interest group created four years ago to support victims of cybercriminals.