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The Nigerian government has alerted citizens to the existence of an Android-based malicious and fraudulent Coronavirus Ransomware
application claiming to provide updates on the virus and infections near the user.
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 $100 in bitcoin within 48 hours.
The minister revealed this in a statement issued in Abuja as Coronavirus cases increased among Nigerian top government officials and countries around the world battle the pandemic.
Mohammed 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.
He said the development confirms warnings against cyber criminals seeking to exploit the growing spread of the virus for nefarious gains.
Mohammed asked the general public not to download the Ransomware app and to seek updates on the pandemic only from the appropriate authorities.
