The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture has cautioned Nigerians about an Android-based malicious and fraudulent Coronavirus Ransomware Application.
This ransomware application claims to offer virus updates and infection information near the user, but upon downloading, it restricts access to the user’s personal data and accounts on their devices. Additionally, it threatens deletion unless a payment of One Hundred US Dollars ($100) in Bitcoin is made within 48 hours.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, mentioned that the ransomware application was detected on a website, prompting users to download an Android app supposedly for coronavirus map tracking and heat map visuals.
According to a statement released by Segun Adeyemi, media aide to Lai Mohammed:
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, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, mentioned that the ransomware blocks access to users’ personal data and accounts, threatening deletion unless users pay One Hundred US Dollars ($100) in Bitcoin within 48 hours.
He stated that the ransomware app, detected on the website, prompts users to download an Android app supposedly for coronavirus map tracking and heat map visuals.
Alhaji Mohammed confirmed the warnings against cyber criminals seeking to exploit the virus’s spread for nefarious gains.
He urged the general public not to download the ransomware app and to seek pandemic updates only from appropriate authorities.