From Trojan horses riding through the
cyberspace to worms creeping in through email
attachments, every system is threatened by
malicious attacks.
But more threat has emerged since the Ebola outbreak as the virus has become the latest malware cybercriminals are using to infect systems.
Whenever you establish an internet connection
for reading your mails or sharing files over the
web, your system is exposed to an attack
hidden under a false Ebola message.
By baiting users into clicking on malicious links
or attachments, online hoodlums are exploiting
this far reaching epidemic to viral the spread of
malware.
Their causes have been further boosted by the
growing concern, and search for information
relating to managing the disease.
The virus has become so significant that the
domain name Ebola.com sold for $200,000 last
week.
This week, Trustwave, a private security and compliance consulting company that helps businesses fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risk, discovered several Ebola- themed threats, New York Times reports. One of the threats included an email wrapped with the World Health Organization logo, with a misleading file on Ebola safety tips.
The file, once downloaded left a program on
the host computer. This, as reported, could not
be detected by antivirus programs.
The program can do several things, including
taking control of their desktop remotely, modify
and upload files and steal passwords.
“Unsurprisingly, cybercriminals have continued
to piggyback on newsworthy and major events,
disasters and outbreaks to lure potential victims
and spread their malware,” New York Times
quoted Trustwave spokeswoman Abby Ross as
writing in an email.
The United States Computer Readiness Team had last week warned internet users about spam campaigns that bait users into clicking on malicious attachment or links with information on the Ebola virus.
“We are echoing their recommendation of never
following unsolicited web links or attachments
in email messages, particularly Ebola-themed
ones,” Ross wrote.
Ebola Virus has killed 4922 since the outbreak
began in Guinea in December 2013.
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Credit: Ventures Africa
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