A multi level influence model of COVID 19 themed cybercrime
ABSTRACT The recent severity and frequency of cybercrime has been dominated by a single theme the COVID 19 pandemic. This research develops a multi level influence model to explore how cybercriminals are exploiting the COVID 19 pandemic by assessing situational factors, identifying victims, impersonating trusted sources, selecting attack methods, and employing social engineering techniques. The model extends upon prior work on influence techniques and emotional appeals that cybercriminals employ, by bringing into sharper focus the role of situational factors in COVID 19 related cybercrime attacks. Content and thematic analysis was conducted on 185 distinct COVID 19 cybercrime scam incident documents, including text, images, and photos, provided by a global online fraud and cybersecurity company tracking COVID 19 related cybercrime. The analysis reveals interesting patterns about the sheer breadth and diversity of COVID 19 related cybercrime and how these crimes are continually evolving in response to changing situational factors. It is hoped that these insights and recommendations for end users and organisations can contribute to a safer digital world as we cope with many other pressing challenges during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Eur. J. Inf. Syst.