The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) has warned that financial services firms, and in particular smaller ones, are being attacked at an increased rate during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to FS-ISAC, phishing attacks against financial services firms increased by one-third in the first quarter of 2020. In that time period, FS-ISAC identified more than 1,500 websites using pandemic-related lending programs as bait to fool people into disclosing personal information. Although they were taken down, new ones appear in their place, much like Whack-a-Mole.

With bank, credit union and other financial service company employees working from home, additional precautions are necessary to combat the attacks. FS-ISAC rolled out a chat feature to assist financial service companies in identifying and responding to cyber attacks. With the knowledge that they are being targeted, financial services firms can warn, educate and assist their employees to help prevent them from becoming victims of these increased attacks.