Cybercriminals Strike Where It Hurts Most: SARS-Cov-2 Pandemic and its Influence on Critical Infrastructure Ransomware Attacks

The critical infrastructure (CI) of a society are the sixteen entities that facilitate the smooth daily living of its residents. Due to the crucial functionalities, CI elements are the most favored targets of cybercriminals. The situation was further aggravated when the world battled the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. Due to socio-economic distress and reduced resources, a much higher number of ransomware attacks on CI were reported in the year 2020. To further illuminate the influence of the pandemic on the ransomware trends, the authors divided the data of the reported incidents into two time-frames. The first time-frame spanned the years 2013 till 2019, and the second time-frame covered the pandemic duration of the years 2020 and 2021. The two time frames were analyzed through rich visualizations and it was found that the healthcare sector was targeted much more while it was already struggling. Moreover, new strains like Netwalker and existing strains that preyed on corporate networks were preferred in recent years. The economic distress and call for stricter laws against ransom payments resulted in lesser percentages of ransom payments, but system downtimes stretched to more than a month's time. Lastly, while cryptocurrency had gained popularity among criminals due to its anonymity potential, continuous research against its misuse has caused a decline in crypto ransom payments. © 2022 IEEE.

Ultrafast resistive-type gamma-Fe2O3-rGO nanohybrid-based humidity sensor - a respiratory monitoring tool

The resistive-type sensing device has been fabricated by integrating a thin film of iron oxide-rGO nanohybrids on a flexible tempered glass substrate, providing an excellent tool for humidity sensing for different activities. The optimal nanohybrid demonstrates an ultra-high sensitivity as well as an ultrafast response and recovery time. The response/recovery speed of the sensor is 270 ms/298 ms for fast breathing and only 6 ms/7 ms when a finger touched the sensor surface. This sensor showed excellent potential for the monitoring of different breathing patterns such as normal, deep, fast and relaxed. It also demonstrated the capability to detect skin evaporation in a non-contact mode, exhibiting future prospects for developing next-generation tools/devices such as smart touchless switches and screens. A rapid sensing device for the human respiratory system based on resistivity measurement could also provide a promising way to assess COVID-19 stages in a patient.