Criminals are exploiting health worries to trick victims into installing malware.
Cyber criminals are taking advantage of worldwide worries about the deadly coronavirus by sending malware-laden emails that supposedly offer guidance.
Security firms monitoring the latest threats have spotted numerous email campaigns, all using coronavirus as a hook to get victims to open infected messages.
At the time of writing there were nearly 7,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide and more than 300 deaths. A man died of the coronavirus in the Philippines, the first confirmed fatality outside China.
Tricked
The first major malware campaign was detected by IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence. It targeted victims with coronavirus infection reports for Japanese prefectures, including the population centers of Gifu, Osaka, and Tottori.
The emails were disguised as official notifications from public health centers and came with attachments promising more details on preventive measures against infection.
The attachments looked like Microsoft Word documents but contained malicious payloads linked to the infamous Emotet malware family, which can harvest user credentials, browser history, and sensitive documents.
Other malicious files were disguised as PDF, MP4 and DOCX files, with names suggesting they contained video instructions on how to protect yourself from the virus, updates on the threat, and even virus detection procedures.
In reality, the files contained a range of threats, including Trojans and worms capable of destroying, blocking, modifying or copying data, and interfering with the operation of computers and networks.
"The coronavirus, which is being widely debated as a major news story, has already been used as bait by cybercriminals," according to a Kaspersky malware analyst. Researchers expected the trend to grow as public health concerns persisted.
How to Stay Safe
- Don't open attachments or links in unexpected emails, even if they look official.
- Check the sender's address carefully.
- Keep your operating system and antivirus up to date.
- Get health information only from official sources.
Read more about cybersecurity threats in Pakistan and their solutions.
