Hackers use fake coronavirus heat map to inject PC malware

Cyber criminals have come up with a nefarious scheme misusing the coronavirus outbreak to steal the financial credentials of the victims.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a huge spike in deaths related to COVID-19 infections and World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it a global pandemic.

Since the late December 2019, coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China has spread to more than 115 countries infecting more than 125,000 people and so far, a little over 4,600 of them have died (as per latest WHO report at the time of writing this article).

The rate of the virus spread has spooked the people around the world and are very anxious to know, which countries are the most affected. Sadly, some hackers are misusing the global health crisis to prey on naive users by creating a fake website with a heat map of coronavirus infections.

Read more | Coronavirus live update: Latest information on COVID-19 infections

Once entering the website, the user will be asked to download the map. But, it contains a malware with .exe file and gets installed on the computer. Once inside, the trojan unleashes a strain of malicious software known as AZORult, Reason Labs’ cybersecurity researcher, Shai Alfasi, said.

Actually, this firmware has been active since 2016, but it is coming back to haunt us. It illegally retrieves browsing history, cookies, ID/passwords, cryptocurrency information, financial data such as credit/debit card numbers and more stored in the computer.

Coronavirus heat map

Last month, hackers had created a similar phishing campaign misusing the COVID-19 outbreak. They were sending emails to random people with fake information on preventive and healthcare measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Read more | Hackers misuse coronavirus outbreak to inject PC malware

How to protect your PCs and mobile from trojans
1) Whether you have an Android mobile or iOS-based iPhone or Windows-powered PCs or Mac computer, always update your devices with the latest software. All three Google, Microsoft, and Apple send regularly send firmware — especially security patches monthly or on a priority basis, whenever they detect threats. So, make sure you install the latest software
2) Another good practice is to install a premium Antivirus software, which offers 24x7 protection. They are equipped to detect threats quickly whenever you unknowingly visit a shady website
3) It goes without saying, never visit any shady websites and be advised to see if it has 'https' or just 'http'. If it has the latter, just kill the link and initiate anti-virus scanning on your device
4) Never ever open emails or SMS and click URL links sent from unknown senders
5) Also, never install apps or software from unfamiliar publishers
6) Always download apps from Google Play or Apple App Store or Windows Store only. Never install from any third-party app store

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