Hackers using Coronavirus chaos to trick people into downloading malware

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has cast a shadow on cyberspace as well. Subex, a Bengaluru-based firm that provides analytics to telecom service providers, said hackers are using the panic and confusion to trick employees and other stakeholders into downloading infected payloads or malware.

In a situation where many employees work from home or access wi-fi networks that operate at enterprise-level security, devices such as routers can be hacked to plant a range of malware into handheld devices used by employees.
“Such devices could be turned into zombies or bots and added to botnets or used to launch attacks on systems and networks it connects once the employee is back in the office,” said Prayukth K V, chief marketing officer, Internet of things (IoT), Subex.
Subex said this indicates a high level of adaptability as far as hackers are concerned. It said there were concerns that the outbreak could be used to breach networks and infrastructure components to either attack them immediately or leave a trojan (malware that misleads users of its true intent) or backdoor behind to use in the future. Read More