Cybercriminals are always on the prowl looking for the slightest opportunity to exploit to their own advantage.
The coronavirus outbreak has infected over 128,000 people across the globe, and has as well so far claimed over 4,700 lives. However, this present a perfect opportunity for hackers to prey on Internet users PCs and infect them with malware.
Also Read: Beware! This WhatsApp Coronavirus Message Is A big Time Scam
People around the globe do go online to search for coronavirus trackers so as to get information about the spread of COVID-19. Instead, hackers are circulating fake coronavirus maps which pretends to show maps tracking the spread of COVID-19, but actually are meant to infect unsuspecting users's computers with malware stealing data.
According to cyber security researcher Shei Alfasi, from Reason Labs, these coronavirus maps used by these hackers contain a serious malware called AZORult. This piece of malware can be used to steal usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, browser history and other credentials. It can as well gain access to users bank accounts, crypto wallets and even get full control of their device.
Reasons Labs said that these cyber criminals were modifying URLs and as well maintaining the genuine looks of original sites to fool online users. Once a user visited any of these sites, they get a prompt to download an app that gives the latest information on the speed of the virus.
For example, one such Windows software called the "Corona Virus Map", a 3.26 MB file which uses the same GUI as that of John Hopkins University which is a legitimate tracker website of the coronavirus.
To make users not suspect them, they also collect information from the web to show real time update about COVID-19.
To stay safe online and still get accurate information about COVID-19, we have below some list of trusted sites that we recommend.