The Federal Government on Tuesday alerted Nigerians to the existence of an Android-based malicious and fraudulent coronavirus Ransomware application, which claims to provide updates on COVID-19 and infections near the user.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, raised the alarm in a statement by his Special Assistant, Segun Adeyemi.
According to him, the Ransomware blocks access to users’ personal data and accounts and threatens deletion, unless users pay $100 in Bitcoin within 48 hours.
He explained that the Ransomware App, detected on the website www.coronavirusapp.site, “prompts users to download an Android App purportedly for coronavirus map tracking and heat map visuals.”
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The Minister noted the development confirmed warnings against cybercriminals seeking to exploit the growing spread of the virus for their ceiminal gains.
He, therefore, called on the general public not to download the Ransomware App and to seek updates on the pandemic only from the established authorities by the federal and state governments.
