Group-IB starts investigation into spread of fake news about coronavirus outbreak in Moscow

Today, experts at Group-IB revealed and analyzed the spread of fake news about a coronavirus outbreak in Moscow that is purportedly being silenced. Using Group-IB’s Graph Network Analysis, Group-IB has revealed the instances of fake news spread in the form of a voice message. The fake message is being shared by bots on VK (a Russian social media platform) and is being circulated in various messaging apps. The fake news campaign is targeted at the most perceptive people: the rumors were distributed via group conversations in messengers, uniting the mothers of school and kindergarten students, as well as on internet forums for mothers and websites intended for the female audience. As of today, over 9,500 posts, reposts, and publications promoting this fake news have been registered. Group-IB experts have launched an investigation into the case to establish the perpetrators of this information attack.

These provocative actions are thought to seek to fuel panic among Moscow citizens. We strongly urge the general public to stay vigilant about unverified sources distributing such fake claims and follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization to prevent coronavirus infection.

Ilya Sachkov
Ilya Sachkov

CEO and founder at Group-IB

About Group-IB

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Singapore, Group-IB is a leading creator of cybersecurity technologies to investigate, prevent, and fight digital crime. Combating cybercrime is in the company’s DNA, shaping its technological capabilities to defend businesses, citizens, and support law enforcement operations.

Group-IB’s Digital Crime Resistance Centers (DCRCs) are located in the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, and Asia-Pacific to help critically analyze and promptly mitigate regional and country-specific threats. These mission-critical units help Group-IB strengthen its contribution to global cybercrime prevention and continually expand its threat-hunting capabilities.

Group-IB’s decentralized and autonomous operational structure helps it offer tailored, comprehensive support services with a high level of expertise. We map and mitigate adversaries’ tactics in each region, delivering customized cybersecurity solutions tailored to risk profiles and requirements of various industries, including retail, healthcare, gambling, financial services, manufacturing, crypto, and more.

The company’s global security leaders work in synergy with some of the industry’s most advanced technologies to offer detection and response capabilities that eliminate cyber disruptions agilely.

Group-IB’s Unified Risk Platform (URP) underpins its conviction to build a secure and trusted cyber environment by utilizing intelligence-driven technology and agile expertise that completely detects and defends against all nuances of digital crime. The platform proactively protects organizations’ critical infrastructure from sophisticated attacks while continuously analyzing potentially dangerous behavior all over their network.

The comprehensive suite includes the world’s most trusted Threat Intelligence, The most complete Fraud Protection, AI-powered Digital Risk Protection, Multi-layered protection with Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR), All-infrastructure Business Email Protection, and External Attack Surface Management.

Furthermore, Group-IB’s full-cycle incident response and investigation capabilities have consistently elevated industry standards. This includes the 77,000+ hours of cybersecurity incident response completed by our sector-leading DFIR Laboratory, more than 1,400 successful investigations completed by the High-Tech Crime Investigations Department, and round-the-clock efforts of CERT-GIB.

Time and again, its solutions and services have been revered by leading advisory and analyst agencies such as Aite Novarica, Gartner®, Forrester, Frost & Sullivan, KuppingerCole Analysts AG, and more.

Being an active partner in global investigations, Group-IB collaborates with international law enforcement organizations such as INTERPOL, EUROPOL and AFRIPOL to create a safer cyberspace. Group-IB is also a member of the Europol European Cybercrime Centre’s (EC3) Advisory Group on Internet Security, which was created to foster closer cooperation between Europol and its leading non-law enforcement partners.