The meeting dedicated to the topic of cybersecurity was held in GrSMU

On May 30 the meeting between the personnel of the Dean’s office of the Medical Faculty for International Students and the senior inspector of the Department of Citizenship and Migration of Leninsky district of Grodno Julia Zenonovna Savonyaka took place, during which a dialogue on the topic on cyber security occurred.

The discussion focused on modern threats in the digital space, methods of personal data protection and cybercrimes that citizens face, namely:

• During a phone call, fraudsters introduce themselves as employees of mobile operators (MTS, A1 or Life:)) or “Beltelecom”, “Vodokanal”, “Grodnoenergo”, medical or other institutions, inform about expiration of a service contract, change of tariff plan, necessary replacement of measuring devices; they persuade to provide personal data and other personal information, follow a link in a messenger and download an app under various pretexts. After transferring personal data, a person may receive a message from a bank about an attempt to register a personal account. Then, there are calls from unknown people via messengers who introduce themselves as employees of various law enforcement agencies, reporting that attackers have gained access to bank accounts or are transferring funds through them to support extremist activities. After that, under the threat of searches and seizure of all property, they convince you to transfer all available funds to accounts under their control.
• Internet criminals skillfully use the capabilities of neural networks. When they receive a voice or photo sample, they create fake messages or videos on behalf of relatives or acquaintances. Later, victim’s contacts are sent fake requests for financial assistance for treatment through a credit card or the so-called “acquaintance”.
• The most dangerous cyber fraudsters are those who pose as brokers or traders of trading platforms and offer the victim to increase income by investing a small amount of money. On the Internet, they place a website of a non-existent stock exchange with charts and diagrams. They create a personal account for investors and demonstrate the income they have supposedly received. Sometimes they let you withdraw a small part of money, but they always convince you to continue investing larger amounts, which they advise you, for example, to borrow from your acquaintances, get on credit or from selling housing.
• To withdraw stolen money, fraudsters always use front men – drops – who have provided access to their bank accounts for a fee. Drops are links in criminal chain and are needed to transfer money through several banks to foreign bank accounts or into cryptocurrency. Drops are liable under Article 222 of the Criminal Code for up to 10 years of imprisonment.
• In our Republic it’s allowed to buy and sell cryptocurrency for cash (Belarusian rubles, foreign currency or electronic money) only from crypto exchangers (cryptocurrency exchange operators) that are residents of Hi-Tech Park. Conducting transactions to buy (sell) cryptocurrency on foreign crypto exchangers and from individuals is illegal and prohibited. The procedure for carrying out transactions with cryptocurrency is defined by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus №367 of 20.09.2024, for violation of which liability is determined according to Part 3 of Article 13.3 КоАП in the form of a fine with confiscation of the entire amount of income.

The senior inspector shared practical advice on preventing information leaks and countering fraudulent schemes:

• Use secure passwords, biometrics and two-factor authentication on mobile devices.
• Don’t post excessive personal information on social media.
• Open emails from unknown senders with caution.
• Use public Wi-Fi networks cautiously. An attacker can gain access to data using special software that analyzes traffic.
• Don’t download programmes and apps from unknown websites. Use only verified official sources.

Special attention was paid to the issues of aware behavior on the Internet and corporate data security. The participants of the meeting were able to ask questions and receive detailed answers.