Coronavirus Tracking App ’CovidLock’ Exposed as Ransomware Scam

It is behind a coronavirus tracking application called CovidLock that the phenomenon is raging. According to the information note available on the coronavirusapp website, the ransomware encrypts the devices of its victims who will have previously provided the hackers via CovidLock, accessibility and locking authorizations. The cybercriminals will then demand a ransom of $100 (paid in bitcoins) within 48 hours if they want to recover the data from their device (photos, contacts and other data).

The National Defense also warns about other attacks that lead some people to inadvertently download map presentations of the spread of the virus on the internet and thus trigger a malicious application that will compromise their devices. In many cases, "the attacks are based on phishing emails, like the BlackWater variant, containing links or attachments claiming to contain important information about the Covid-19 virus".

Also, the Directorate General of Information Systems Security of the National Defense Administration advises, to counter these attacks, to "download safe applications only using resources from official governments and health facilities regarding the coronavirus".