Hackers Use Maps Tracking COVID-19 Spread To Inject Malware

Anil - Mar 13, 2020


Hackers Use Maps Tracking COVID-19 Spread To Inject Malware

Counting on coronavirus-tracking maps to take early prevention will never be misbehavior of sorts, but be careful!

Following Asian countries, either Europe or the U.S now has to see the COVID-19 fear surge amongst their societies. To warn citizens about the speedy spread of the pandemic, many governments and organizations have worked on dashboards that show real-time updates of the pandemic like the number of infected patients in specific areas or death toll. Unfortunately, some of these tools come at a cost when cybercriminals reportedly stick eyes on them to maneuver malicious plans.

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Hackers are making use of the live-tracking maps to steal user information.

According to the cyber-security firm Reason Labs, hackers are making use of the live-tracking maps to steal user information such as their names, passwords, credit card number and other stored data in the browser.

Generally, hackers will create websites that encourage users to install a coronavirus app if they want to keep updated about their situations. In fact, there’s no such an app at all as the interface then prompts a map that seemingly represents the COVID-19 spread across the globe. The findings reveal that hackers have created a malicious binary file to deploy it into connected devices without any consent from victims.

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At present, only Windows users are susceptible to this type of attack.

Despite that fake websites come with different URLs, they’re tied with genuine maps for tracking to convince people. Security experts said only Windows users are susceptible to this type of attack at present, but nothing ensures the safety of other operating systems in the near future.

Counting on coronavirus-tracking apps to take early prevention will never be misbehavior of sorts, but be careful of hackers and remember to shun away from unreliable sites.

>>> How To Kill Coronavirus: Effective Products To Sanitize Your Home

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