Beware of Ebola-themed phishing, malware campaigns and hoaxes

US-CERT released an advisory warning users about email scams and cyber campaigns using the Ebola virus disease as a theme.

“Phishing emails may contain links that direct users to websites which collect personal information such as login credentials, or contain malicious attachments that can infect a system,” they pointed out.

They advise users to be careful when dealing with these types of email messages, and urge them not to follow links or open attachments contained in them.

They advised them to keep their AV software up-to-date, and to refresh their knowledge about how to protect themselves from malicious email attachments and avoid social engineering and phishing attacks.

Another, less immediate danger are online hoaxes. Hoax-Slayer has compiled a pretty good list of current Ebola-related ones, including the one that claimed that a number of iPhone 6 phones have been contaminated with Ebola during manufacture and are helping the virus to spread.

“Sharing false information about Ebola is both dangerous and irresponsible,” he noted, and added that “criminals are also getting in on the act by peddling useless Ebola remedies and using Ebola as a cover story for advance fee scams.”