The main trends of cybercrime in the quarantine period and counteraction to it

Abstract

The article analyzes the latest trends in cybercrime during the introduction and implementation of quarantine measures in connection with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and the consequences of this type of crime. Such trends include: a significant increase in the number of cybercrimes in the world and in Ukraine; «exploitation» by criminals of people's concerns about the situation with the coronary crisis and its negative consequences, as a result of which the whole array of these crimes somehow correlates with the pandemic; expanding the objects of cyberattacks and shifting the emphasis on how to «more effectively» interfere in the work of information and communication devices; the emergence of the so-called pandemic offender; creating a serious threat from cybercriminals to the health sector, etc. The whole array of cybercrimes is divided into offenses, in the «scenario» of which the coronavirus theme is decisive, and «traditional» cybercrimes, the committing of which is not directly conditioned by this event, although the number of such crimes (increasing) correlates with special pandemic conditions. The article presents the reasons that led to the emergence of a new phenomenon in the criminal world – a pandemic criminal, whose illegal behavior is manifested primarily in the information space. The danger of cybercrime for the lens of critical infrastructure is emphasized, with special emphasis on medical facilities. The conceptual idea of ​​counteracting cybercrime is revealed, which consists in changing the strategy of counteracting cyber threats from «traditional» offensive to defensive, in which the priority should be given to the protection of information from possible threats. This is due to many factors, including the modern format of communication, the nature of production processes and business, blurring the boundaries between corporate and personal information and communication devices, the dependence of information security on the human factor, the need to find additional sources for information security. The content of the defense strategy of counteraction will determine the strategic directions of this counteraction. The main directions of the defense strategy are: 1) development and implementation of information security policy as individual subjects of the information space, and society, the state as a whole; 2) information education on topics that are most often exploited by criminals during epidemics, pandemics and other natural and social cataclysms, and specific information security measures; 3) development of the market of information security outsourcing services; 4) formation of skills of observance of information hygiene of ordinary citizens in cyberspace; 5) constant monitoring and research of problems of digitalization of society; etc.