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COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

Report: North Korea Hacking Group Targeting Government COVID-19 Stimulus Checks

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Popular North Korea hacking group, Lazarus Group, is preparing to launch a massive cyberattack this weekend. According to a report by the Internet security company Cyfirma, the infamous North Korean hacking group, the attack will take place after the government distributes the COVID-19 stimulus checks.

The notorious hacking syndicate may target Americans who are recipients of government stimulus checks, and all the recipients of stimulus checks worldwide. The group has planned a phishing strategy according to the report, targeting some specific 5 million individuals and companies, bridging across the United States, UK, Japan , India, Singapore and South Korea.

North Korea hacking group plans to impersonate government officials

The internet security firm anticipates the group to launch the attack this weekend for two days, impacting small, medium, and large businesses, on top of individual people. The plan is to lure these individuals by mimicking a government official, or the governing body in the victim’s country.

According to Cryfirma, if the individuals fall for the trap, they may then disclose information that the North Korea hacking group can use to access vital accounts. The report reads: 

“The hacking campaign involved using phishing emails under the guise of local authorities in charge of dispensing government-funded Covid-19 support initiatives. These phishing emails are designed to drive recipients to fake websites where they will be deceived into divulging personal and financial information.”

Massive phishing strategy

Every nation included in the report is undertaking some stimulus, either for businesses, its citizens, or even both of them. All the strategies outlined by Cryfirma in the report involve luring the victims by extra payouts, to squeeze out more private information, maybe to sell on the dark web.

Furthermore, the internet security firm has highlighted some emails that are likely to be used in the phishing plan. Cryfirma has identified the following emails as impersonator accounts:

covid19notice@usda.gov;

ccff-applications@bankofengland.co.uk;

covid-support@mom.gov.sg; 

covid-support@mof.go.jp; 

ncov2019@gov.in; 

fppr@korea.kr.

Italian Red Cross Bitcoin Fundraiser Hits Target Within 3 Days

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The Italian Red Cross outlined a new Bitcoin initiative to purchase medical impediment after the initial Bitcoin fundraiser had exceeded the target in three days. The Italian Red Cross organized a bitcoin appeal to help acquire advanced medical posts for a triage facility in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

After only three days of setting up the bitcoin fundraiser, Red Cross has revealed that it had achieved its target of about $10,710 (€10,000).In addition, the Red Cross announced that it had begun to purchase the equipment necessary for stationing the triage facilities.

This time around, the charitable organization has set a new goal of about $26,000 to procure the equipment needed for emergency operations, which involves a defibrillator with a vital signs monitor. In fact, this latest bitcoin project has met more than 75 percent of the target set from only 55 donors at the time of writing. The charitable group has spent about $20,000 to date.

Crypto community role in the fight against coronavirus pandemic

As the COVID-19 epidemic intensifies, the cryptocurrency community has provided several novel insights and hands-on strategies. 

Coinbase, leading global crypto exchange firm, formally developed a code related to multi-stage coronavirus response plan.The Coinbase system entails how companies should respond to specific occurrences, such as increased cases within a vicinity.

An international group of developers has been rolling out the “CoronaCoin” whose supply relates to the number of COVID-19 related deaths. The project has been dubbed as an unhealthy joke, however, the developers have defended their plan by comparing the asset to the pandemic bonds; issued by the World Health Organisation, which also similarly amass value. 

The digital currency community has engaged and contributed to various projects that are helping to combat COVID-19 globally. Platforms like Folding@Home, which capitalizes on additional computational power to assist in medical research; have gained tremendous support from the cryptocurrency community.

In particular, the Tezos Foundation has set up a pool of hundreds of XTZ to become the most significant Folding@Home contributor. Additionally, CoreWeave has redirected approximately 6,000 GPUs that were initially used to mine ETH towards the project.

Moreover, Ethereum based crowdfunding network, Gitcoin, revealed on March 14 that it had committed about $50,000 in grants funding; to the public health initiatives that are battling the coronavirus pandemic. Gitcoin is looking forward to raising at least $100, 000 towards the course.

The rise in crypto-related COVID-19 scams

Cybercriminals are capitalizing heavily on the coronavirus pandemic using digital currencies to obscure their tracks. Scammers have established “phishing” attacks using text messages, emails, and social media platforms; to exploit the panic caused by the widespread coronavirus.

According to a report by cybersecurity researcher Chester Wisniewski on March 19, fraudsters have been posing as the World Health Organization (WHO) to seek BTC grants through email. 

Furthermore, a cyber threat research firm, DomainTools on March 13; published a report regarding a website that infects users’ phones with ransomware.

The website, named coronaviruapp.site, will infect a user’s mobile phone with COVID-19 themed ransomware; that resembles a heat map showing the spread of coronavirus across the globe. The malware demands a ransom in bitcoin. 

 

Bitcoin scammers impersonate WHO Coronavirus Response Fund to Funnel Donation Money

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Bad players in the cryptocurrency space have always been the industry’s burden and remain one of the biggest disincentives for institutional investors. Bitcoin scams have become so commonplace that they have even begun to affect legitimate large-scale ventures.

The Internet scan revealed that Bitcoin scammers were impersonating the website of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for their own nefarious intentions.

Instead of using a website, the Bitcoin scammers sent emails to multiple people asking them to donate to a bitcoin address. Apparently, the capital collected would be used to provide resources for everyone fighting Coronavirus on the front lines. It was obvious from the outset to those familiar with the project that the email was part of a scam.

The actual Response Fund has its own website at covid19responsefund.org where people can donate set amounts between $25 and $2500 or any amount of their choice. On the website, users also have the option to make their payments part of a monthly cycle to continue the fight against COVID-19.

WHO
https://covid19responsefund.org/

The release on the website read:

“The greatest need right now is to help ensure all countries are prepared, especially those with the weakest health systems. Donations support WHO’s work to track and understand the spread of the virus; to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and to accelerate efforts to develop vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Beware of these new coronavirus email scams

The scam mail tried to first explain what the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was about, including a list of objectives of the “organization”. These objectives included enabling all countries to track and detect COVID-19 by boosting laboratory capacity through training and equipment. One of the paragraphs in the mail spoke about the grim reality of what might occur and the solutions for it. It said:

“The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan outlines a funding need of at least US$675 million for critical response efforts in countries most in need of help through April 2020. As this outbreak evolves, funding needs are likely to increase.”

There have been several cases of people skirting the law for their needs during these trying times. The Coronavirus has spread to more than 80 countries now and new cases were being reported every day. As health officials continue to ask people to practice ‘social distancing’, it was heinous that Bitcoin scammers would go the other way.

It can only be hoped that the people behind the latest scam be brought to justice quickly as their email blast may have nasty ramifications. Money that was supposed to be used for assisting the sick would be diverted to the pockets of Bitcoin scammers and that just cannot be allowed. Users in the cryptocurrency industry must band together to create awareness about this Bitcoin scam so that help can be given to those who deserve it.