FG Alerts Nigerians To Existence of Coronavirus Ransomware

The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians to the
existence of an

Android-based malicious and fraudulent Coronavirus
Ransomware

Application, which claims to provide updates on the virus
and

infections near the user.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of
Information

and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Ransomware blocks
access to

users’ personal data and accounts and threatens deletion,
unless users

pay One Hundred US Dollars ($100) in Bitcoin within 48
hours.

He said 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.

Alhaji Mohammed said the development confirms warnings
against cyber

criminals seeking to exploit the growing spread of the virus
for

nefarious gains.

He therefore called on the general public not to download
the

Ransomware App and to seek updates on the pandemic only from
the

appropriate authorities.