The success of the campaign "Donate Arena Corinthians", organized by Gaviões da Fiel to pay off the club's debt related to the financing of the Neo Química Arena, attracted the attention of cybercriminals, that created fake URLs to deceive fans and divert resources. In light of this, the sports institution established a partnership with theDfense, hub of the main cybersecurity solutions, to face the problem, what has already yielded great results: more than 300 fraudulent websites have been identified, 200 downed and 60 are under continuous monitoring
The Information Security Master Plan (PDSI) was centralized in the actions of one of the group's startups, a ZenoX. The company monitors, collection, processes and analyzes data on the internet, deep and dark web, prioritizing and classifying vulnerabilities.Gabriel Paiva, founder and CEO of ZenoX and the Dfense Group, highlights that the strategy was designed not only to have financial relevance, but also emotional. "Ensuring cybersecurity in large public actions like this goes beyond preventing financial losses"; it is about protecting people in love, that are united for a cause and deserve peace to navigate the digital world, say
Campaign Details
Released on November 27, 2024, the campaign of the Corinthians fans had the authorization of the club and the Caixa Econômica Federal to raise about R$700 million. Until now, the donations, made via PIX on the official site, it has already exceeded R$28 million, since R$10 million were raised in just the first 36 hours online
Marcius Ayres, Coordinator of Technology and Information Security of Corinthians, it highlights how the establishment of solid digital defenses has been essential for this success: "The response time of the action is much lower than expected. Cybercriminals could cause huge losses to Corinthians fans and the campaign without the proper attention to the issue, "so it is a job that needs to be praised", affirms
How fans can strengthen their digital defenses
To confront the actions of the money changers even more intensely, the corinthians fans can add protective measures to their daily lives, mainly considering the exponential increase in the number of cybercrimes. According to the "Threat Landscape for Latin America 2024", from Kaspersky, Brazil is the country that suffers the most cyber attacks in the world, registering over 700 million virtual scams just between June 2023 and July 2024
For Paiva, one of the main enhancements in terms of cybersecurity is URL verification. "More conventional attacks", how email scams and phishing continue to be the biggest threats by reaching a large number of people quickly, so it is important for fans to access the campaign site directly through the browser instead of clicking on suspicious links, advises
The specialist also mentions some additional tools to improve protections: "Antivirus, two-factor authentication (2FA) and updating devices help to block unauthorized access, block malicious links and protect systems against cyber threats, complement.Finally, the executive also mentions some measures to act quickly and minimize damage if the user falls victim to a digital scam. They are:
- Contact your financial institution, notifying the bank about unauthorized transactions and requesting the blocking of compromised cards or accounts
- Gather evidence, like emails, messages or screenshots that may be useful for future investigations
- Register a Police Report (BO), formalizing the complaint at a police station or through online channels to assist in the investigation of cybercriminals
- Monitor statements and credit reports, monitoring financial transactions to identify suspicious activities and inform the responsible authorities to prevent the misuse of stolen data
