Security News > 2020 > April > Malicious coronavirus-themed apps target Android devices
Purporting to offer help and info on COVID-19, the apps can let hackers take control of devices to access files, contacts, the calendar, and more, according to Check Point Research.
As cyber criminals exploit the coronavirus with phishing emails, ransomware, and other attacks, so too are they concocting phony coronavirus-themed apps to infect mobile devices.
For its report "COVID-19 Goes Mobile: Coronavirus Malicious Applications Discovered" released Thursday, Check Point detailed its discovery of 16 different apps all masquerading as legitimate coronavirus apps.
In the samples found by Check Point, the apps were designed for delivery to a large number of mobile devices to take them over.
"Hackers are feasting around the fear of coronavirus by creating malicious applications that have names and icons suggesting they're harmlessly related to coronavirus, but truth is they are traps. In this case, what's alarming is the speed and simplicity in crafting these disguised coronavirus apps. I caution everyone to triple check the domains they click on these days."