Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has discovered a total of 23 malware programs being used to trick Vietnamese Internet users by taking advantage of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The malware is being disguised as .pdf, .mp4, and .docx files claiming to contain the latest updates on the epidemic or information that can help people protect themselves from the novel coronavirus.

Once the files are downloaded, a series of cybersecurity threats damage, block, modify, or copy data, as well as interfering with the operation of computers or computer networks.

The malware can also collect passwords and other confidential information stored on a victim’s device.

Several of these files are spreading via email, Kaspersky reported, adding that hackers often use email addresses resembling those of the World Health Organization or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to dupe people into downloading the codes.

In Vietnam, the cybersecurity firm has discovered 23 separate malware programs that they say are related to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Similar cybersecurity threats are also being circulated in other Asia-Pacific countries, including Bangladesh, the Philippines, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan, according to Kaspersky.

This approach of spreading malicious codes appears be more effective than previous other methods, such as sending fake emails from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, the firm noted.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 244,800 people and killed more than 10,000 globally as of Friday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam’s COVID-19 tally has soared to 85, with 16 having fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital by February 16. 

A patient in the northern province of Ninh Binh was released from the hospital on Friday morning after testing negative for the novel coronavirus for three times.

He was the first and only recovery so far among the 69 ‘second-phase’ cases confirmed in the country since March 6.

No deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in Vietnam to date.

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