COVID-19 and Cyber Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus and Cyber Security
Emergencies and disruption provide opportunity for those wishing to conduct malicious activity. There are cybersecurity aspects and personal precautions to consider in an emergency like the coronavirus outbreak:
Fake Donations
Entitles have already started to register domain names using the name "coronavirus." In past events, we have seen some of these domains being used for fake donation web sites. They may also be used for other less legitimate business purposes like selling overpriced supplies.
Malware
Malware authors are always looking for new ways to get people to open their attachment or download malware. In the past, we have seen malicious videos and other attachments being used to spread malware. Recently live coronavirus maps have been used to spread malware. (The online map posted by Johns Hopkins University at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html does not require a download, and does not contain malware.)
Phishing
Phishing email is the number one way to get people to open malicious attachments, go to malicious web sites, or to provide information to further an attacker’s goals. Pause before you click. If anything seems out of the ordinary or too good to be true, verify before you act.
Fake News
Fake news is not only used to influence elections. Sometimes it is done to attract more eyeballs to a YouTube channel or web site. Be careful who you trust, and don't let sensational news cause you to panic. Panic is not the right state to make sensible decisions.
Visit https://www.odu.edu/cybersecurity and be aware of a number of Safe Computing Practices on our information security awareness pages.
Read more (from SANS Newsbites):
- news.un.org: UN health agency warns against coronavirus COVID-19 criminal scams
- www.vox.com: Coronavirus email scams are trying to cash in on your fear
- www.zdnet.com: Nasty phishing scams aim to exploit coronavirus fears
- krebsonsecurity.com: Live Coronavirus Map Used to Spread Malware
- www.scmagazine.com: Malicious coronavirus map hides AZORult info-stealing malware
J. Douglas Streit, CISSP
CISO & Executive Director
IT Security and Planning
Old Dominion University
http://www.odu.edu/directory/people/j/jstreit
www.odu.edu/cybersecurity
Posted By: John Streit
Date: Mon Mar 16 07:43:45 EDT 2020