IS&T has received several notifications today about the existence of a website (corona-virus-map[.]com) that promises up to date information about the COVID-19 corona virus, but whose real purpose is to infect visitors’ computers with malware. This particular site stole an image from the John Hopkins interactive map and will only compromise unpatched Windows systems. However, we can expect other malicious actors to use the current concern about COVID-19 to spread all kinds of malware, via links in email, dangerous attachments, or  infected websites. Some malware will aim for financial gain by installing ransomware or stealing credit card information. Other malware will quietly establish a presence on our network for hackers – potentially sponsored by foreign states – to attack other systems.

As always, please be careful about opening any message, link or document that arrives unexpectedly, comes from an unknown source, or leads to a novel destination. Alarmist language, typos and/or inconsistencies can be indicators that there is malware involved. If you have any concerns about the validity of a message, check with the sender first or contact our IT help desk.

Please use official websites such as the cdc website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Or the official John Hopkins website: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Keep calm and do not react to any emails or voicemails that try to instill panic. As always, forward any suspicious voicemails and emails to abuse@chapman.edu.

Thank you!