The bad guys don’t need a long time to exploit panic due to the coronavirus outbreak. The study found a surge in malicious sites that were registered and fraudulent e-mails were spread.
Citing Forbes, a report from the cybersecurity company Recorded Future saw more and more sites around the coronavirus being registered.
Some of these sites are used to steal user data and information or transmit malware to their devices.
Director of Operations Outcomes Recorded Future, Lindsay Kaye said the sites below included those that had potential hazards:
- coronavirusstatus [.] space
- coronavirus-map [.] com
- blogcoronacl.canalcero [.] digital
- coronavirus [.] zone
- coronavirus-realtime [.] com
- coronavirus [.] app
- bgvfr.coronavirusaware [.] xyz
- coronavirusaware [.] xyz
Also, Bernardo Quintero, the founder of the Google-owned malware repository and anti-virus testing service VirusTotal, took a look at the domains reported by Recorded Future. He said the following websites also showed signs of malicious behavior, as they’re being detected by anti-virus software:
- corona-virus [.] healthcare
- survivecoronavirus [.] org
- vaccine-coronavirus [.] com
- coronavirus [.] cc
- bestcoronavirusprotect [.] tk
- coronavirusupdate [.] tk
To avoid security risks, do not visit these sites. If you find email coming from this domain, please be careful. Don’t click on any links and don’t open attachments in the email. Simply close and delete the email to avoid further risk.
Currently, the surge in sites about the coronavirus is not yet linked to criminal activity. But Kaye said this might happen in the next few weeks.
READ: 5 Common Phishing Tactics Everyone Must Know About To Avoid Fraud!
There are even registered domains that at first glance come from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even though the originals are from fraudsters. One of them is malware that spreads through emails that come from CDC-Covid19@cdc.gov.
“It is highly recommended to handle all emails related to the COVID-19 outbreak with caution,” wrote Recorded Future.
READ:
- 5 Games To Play From Home While Avoiding The Coronavirus
- Coronavirus: 7 Mainstay Applications for Work From Home
