As we know coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spread all over the world, causing great panic among the people. The current environment is giving the opportunity to hackers who have found ways to exploit the situation as soon as the panic spread. Hackers register virus-related domains and steal various information from users of the sites. They also carry out active Phishing and Ransomware attacks.

Of course, it is not surprising that virus-related sites are registering domains in this situation, however, since late February, experts have noticed a particular increase in this trend. The number of registered domains has increased almost 10 times compared to previous weeks. About 20% of the registered sites turned out to be suspicious. For example, Corona-virus-map.com uses a virus called AZORult to steal information from users. This virus collects information from web browsers on your computer that may contain sensitive user information.

Another major attack took place in the Czech Republic, at the University Hospital of Brno, where a ransomware attack was carried out in the hope that the hospital would soon need to recover the information and pay the money. This attack caused serious damage to the facility and led to the postponement of various important operations. Cybersecurity professionals have so far been unable to fully restore the hospital’s digital services.

Noteworthy is the Android app, which was designed to track users. This applied to the user that it was a distribution map of COVID-19 from Johns Hopkins University, although, in reality, it contained spyware related to a surveillance operation against Libyan mobile users. Attacks on e-mails have also increased significantly, which can be quite devastating for organizations.

In such a situation, of course, it is very difficult to protect yourself from cyber attacks, however, there are recommendations that, if taken into account, minimize the risk of this threat. It is important for businesses to take maximum protection measures when switching to remote work. Will it be VPN usage or multi-level authentication. It is also important not to use personal devices for the service, and not to store important information about them. Be especially wary of emails you receive from an unknown sender. Be sure to check its authenticity and do not open linked links or files. And most importantly, be sure to use trusted and government websites to get accurate and secure information about the spread of COVID-19.