Cyberthreats have been on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic in India. The Dhule police recently released an official statement urging people not to click on links related to coronavirus after superintendent Chinmay Pandit found out about a malware circulated through said links on social messaging apps, according to media reports.

According to the report, Hackers have been using a malware called coronavirus map, which can compromise a user’s confidential data. The police have taken relevant precautionary measures to spread awareness about the same.

The links are being circulated across messaging platforms such as WhatsApp under the guise of helpful websites providing important information about ways to prevent coronavirus infection, the report said, When clicked on, the malware installs a spy software on the user’s device which can potentially lead to attackers stealing confidential data such as bank account details, passwords and other personal data as per the report.

The Delhi police’s cybercrime unit on Wednesday released a similar list of Covid-19 related websites that it had deemed ‘potentially dangerous.’

The cybercrime cell had earlier shared a CNN news piece on Twitter on how hackers have been increasingly cashing in on the global coronavirus pandemic by spreading malware through email, websites and apps designed to look like helpful Covid-19 related resources.

“Apply caution while handling emails/links about #CoronavirusPandemic. Cyber Security Firms have reported that cybercriminals are using COVID-19 pandemic to: spread malware, launch spear-phishing campaigns, launch Business Email Compromise attacks,” DCP Cybercrime wrote on Twitter captioning the post.

According to a CheckPoint Threat Intelligence report, over 4,000 coronavirus-related domains have been registered globally since January. Coronavirus-related domains are 50 per cent more likely to be malware as compared to other domains registered at the same time, the report said.

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