MANILA, Philippines — As the 2019 novel (new) coronavirus or 2019-nCoV continues to spread globally, a possible computer virus is also hitting the world wide web.
Cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky said it has detected "malicious files disguised as documents related to the newly discovered coronavirus."
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Malicious files, masking as useful information on the 2019 nCoV, include formats in pdf (document), MP4 (video) and docx (document).
“The names of files imply that they contain video instructions on how to protect yourself from the virus, updates on the threat and even virus detection procedures, which is not actually the case,” the digital security company said in a release.
The discovered files were said to contain a range of threats from Trojans to worms that can destroy, block, modify or copy data. They are also capable of interfering with computer or computer network operations.
“The coronavirus, which is being widely discussed as a major news story, has already been used as bait by cybercriminals,” Kaspersky malware analyst Anton Ivanov said in the release.
“So far we have seen only 10 unique files, but as this sort of activity often happens with popular media topics then we expect that this tendency may grow. As people continue to be worried for their health, we may see more and more malware hidden inside fake documents about the coronavirus being spread.”
The coronavirus-related files were listed with the following detection names:
- Worm.VBS.Dinihou.r
- Worm.Python.Agent.c
- UDS:DangerousObject.Multi.Generic
- Trojan.WinLNK.Agent. gg
- Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.ew
- HEUR:Trojan.WinLNK.Agent.gen
- HEUR:Trojan.PDF.Badur.b
Kaspersky recommends following only official sources for legitimate and verified information, avoiding suspicious links that promise exclusive content.
It also advised internet users to double-check the file extensions, warning against downloading files with .exe or .lnk formats posing as document or video files.