Fake Coronavirus Documents Are Being Used To Hijack Computers

These days many of us are undoubtedly constantly scanning the news related to the coronavirus. We’re also seeing a lot of information popup on social media, emails, forwarded WhatsApp messages, and so on. However, it seems that cyber criminals are now weaponizing our need for information to hijack our computers.

According, they have discovered that there are fake coronavirus-related documents making their rounds on the internet. For example, some of these fake documents are being disguised as a situation report and are being sent through emails. When the document is opened, the malware is run and ransomware is installed on the user’s computer.

The ransomware then asks that the users pay the attacker a sum in order to unlock their files and computer. Some of these documents can even come across as alarming, as it basically tells the user that they might have come into contact with someone who was infected, and will now be required to print the attached document, forcing them to open up the document in the process.

This is particularly serious because since many people are now working from home, a lot of sensitive information is available that might not necessarily be as well-protected. A recent report even revealed that Apple is allowing select employees to work on unannounced products from home, and we imagine that the company definitely does not want their products leaked in such a manner.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Coronavirus, covid-19, Hack, Malware, Security