Hackers Using Coronavirus Bait, Sending Malware Attached in Mails

If you’re getting mails with coronavirus as the title, chances are it is infected with malware and avoid opening it.

Coronavirus has become popular with hackers now.

(Photo: iStock)

The coronavirus outbreak has crippled life across the world, specifically in China. People have been asked to stay indoors, making sure the airborne virus doesn’t infect more than it already has.

But now security researchers have pointed out that hackers are using the bait of coronavirus and forcing people to open mail with attachments that has been infected with malware.

According to a new monthly report from Check Point, hackers are using the impact and attention of coronavirus to spread their malicious activity. This campaign, as mentioned in the report, has targeted users in Japan, using the malware called emotet and sending the mails pretending to be part of a Japanese disability welfare service provider.

“The emails appeared to be reporting where the infection is spreading in several Japanese cities, encouraging the victim to open the document for more information. When the document was opened, Emotet was downloaded onto the victim’s computer.”     

<a href="https://blog.checkpoint.com/2020/02/13/january-2020s-most-wanted-malware-coronavirus-themed-spam-spreads-malicious-emotet-malware/">Check Point blog post</a>

The researchers claim emotet is an advanced, modular version of trojan virus. The most concerning thing is it can avoid detection, which is any hacker’s dream to work with. But the most common way of using emotet has been through phishing mails attached with malicious files or link.

But it’s not just the spam campaign where the use of coronavirus impact has been put adopted by hackers. They have even set up scam websites using coronavirus in the URL which claims to be selling vaccination which can allegedly cure the people affected by the virus.

We’ve seen these kind of scams duping people easily, so it’s always better to stay vigilant if such campaigns make way to your mail box. As pointed out by Quick Heal, users can also do the following to avoid falling for such fraud campaigns.

1. Be careful while opening mails which has coronavirus as the title or part of the mail body.
2. Do not open files like .doc, mp4 and .pdf attached in mails sent by unknown source
3. Make sure to check the email ID of the person sending such mails