Coronavirus is worrying the world. Its spread is happening in such a way that yesterday, in the late afternoon, the WHO ended up declaring a global public health emergency. The virus, which until then was only reaching other countries via migration, is now beginning to spread directly, from person to person, in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States.
But the problem seems to go beyond the spread of the virus and the deaths that have occurred. The false information is also spreading and, it seems, there are malicious files already circulating inside our computers related to this virus.
Coronavirus, more than a global public health problem
The world has its eyes set on the spread of the new Coronavirus that had its origin in the city of Wuhan, China. Probably from an animal that came into contact with man. It is not yet known if exactly how it happened, but what is certain is that the infections triggered by the virus have already reached about 8000 people and more than 170 deaths, according to WHO data.
There are still almost 100 cases of people with the virus in 18 countries outside China. In fact, 8 are cases of direct transmission, that is, people who contracted the virus after being in contact with another person already infected.
However, it was not enough for this to be a serious problem for the world, we still have to take advantage of alarmism. With the need to know protection and virus detection measures, many people have turned to the Internet to do their research. However, the results may not be as expected.
Malicious files in disguise
Kaspersky said today that malicious files disguised as documents related to Coronavirus have been detected. These recently discovered malicious files were masked in PDF, mp4 and docx files, and had a designation that indicated that they contained video instructions on ways to protect and detect the virus, as well as the latest updates on the topic, which is real.
The files are thus the vehicle for a series of threats, from trojans and worms, capable of destroying, blocking, modifying and copying data, as well as interfering with the operation of computers and computer networks.
According to an analyst at the protection systems company, coronavirus and the evolution of its spread status are currently news in all media. So, this being such a popular topic, it has already been used by hackers as bait.
So far, 10 malware files have been identified, but this number is expected to increase, due to the interest that the disease raises, not only with the media, but also with the general population. In addition, as people increasingly see their health at risk, more hidden malware is expected to spread in fake coronavirus documents.
Malicious files related to the term “coronavirus”
Malicious files related to the term “coronavirus” have been identified with the following detection names:
- Worm.VBS.Dinihou.r
- Worm.Python.Agent.c
- UDS: DangerousObject.Multi.Generic
- Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.gg
- Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.ew
- HEUR: Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.gen
- HEUR: Trojan.PDF.Badur.b
It is important that all the information you consult comes from reliable means of dissemination, avoiding links that promise exclusive content. In addition, both videos and documents you download should never be in .exe or .ink format.
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