Cybercriminals have no decency at all. Due to the health threat of the Coronavirus, they are even capitalizing on the trend which is not amusing at all. They are even taking advantage of the global fear it struck around the world and jumped in to trick potential victims into downloading malware.
They have done so by sending out multiple e-mail campaigns which is posing to offer guidance about the health threat but is found to be malware-laden.
Security firms are closely monitoring for the latest threats and one of the most recent is one that contains the keyword Coronavirus to try to capture the interest of victims to open the content.
There are nearly 7,000+ confirmed cases of the real Coronavirus worldwide, which has resulted in at least 170 deaths and is spreading across China.
In the computer world, the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence found its computer counterpart that has already targeted victims by disguising as a Coronavirus infection reports that contains attachments that promise to provide more information on preventative measures people can undertake.
But sad to say, the Microsoft Word attachments contain malicious payloads which is linked to the infamous Emotet malware family. This malware harvests user credentials, browser history and sensitive documents.
Even Kaspersky security experts have discovered other malicious files that does pretends to be the same preventative information guide. Some of them are pdf, mp4, docx files that is supposed to contain video instructions on how to protect yourself from the actual virus and give you updates about the threat and promises to even provide info for virus detection procedures.
These files would instead contain a vast array of threats which range from Trojans, worms, malware and such which are capable of modifying or copying data, destroying or blocking certain data and in some cases would interfere with the computer’s operation or networks altogether.
The Coronavirus health threat is real and is being discussed all over the news. On the downside, it is being used by cybercriminals as bait to get your computer infected. So far, there security researchers have found 10 unique files that are being spread that is being used with the Coronavirus e-mail bait. It may soon rise when trending media topics are being exploited.
People do worry about their health, but should not be a good reason to download or open these type of files from untrusted sources. These are fake documents and files and should be ignored and deleted immediately. If computer users are not careful, this may spread further similar to the actual Coronavirus health threat.
