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Coronavirus Panic Feeds New Cyber Threats

As concerns about the spread of a novel coronavirus have rocked the globe, hackers are taking advantage.

covid 19 4922384 640smallCyber criminals have been sending malware in fraudulent emails that mention the covid-19 virus and look like they are from public institutions or business partners, as The Wall Street Journal reports. The number of such emails has climbed since late January, cybersecurity firm Proofpoint tells the Journal. New email campaigns mentioning the coronavirus are popping up daily.

More than 400 users of Kaspersky Lab’s security products were targeted with roughly 500 coronavirus-related files, according to the Russia-based cybersecurity company.

The World Health Organization Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Better Business Bureau have all warned in recent weeks about a rise in coronavirus-related criminal schemes, as Yahoo Finance notes.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued a checklist to help executives “think through” cybersecurity and other risks related to the coronavirus outbreak. Practical recommendations include making sure software and firmware patches are updated.

The European Central Bank has warned of a potential uptick in phishing attacks against banking employees and their customers, especially with a rise in remote banking amid the outbreak, as the London Independent reports. Asher de Metz of Sungard Availability Services tells tech news site Channel Futures that cybersecurity risks soar as the spread of the illness prompts more people to work remotely.

As Foreign Policy reports, U.S. officials have also accused Russia of engaging in a coordinated disinformation campaign about the virus.

Washington, D.C.-based attorney Brian Finch points out in an op-ed for The Hill that the coronavirus is causing similar interruptions to those predicted to result from a large-scale cyberattack. Finch recommends that cybersecurity experts should watch what steps are taken to successfully mitigate the fallout from the coronavirus so they can imitate them against a computer virus as well.

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