"Do Not Recklessly Open COVID-19 Emails or Texts"…Financial Authorities Issue Warning Against COVID Hacking

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] On the 8th, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service urged financial consumers to follow damage prevention rules such as managing antivirus programs to prevent financial hacking damage exploiting anxiety about the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

This is because COVID-19-related cyberattacks, such as 'Spear Phishing,' where hackers send emails or text messages on topics of interest by pre-identifying information and characteristics of individuals or specific institutions, have recently become frequent.

To prevent damage, it is recommended to install antivirus software, keep it updated to the latest version, and activate the real-time monitoring function of the antivirus. It is also necessary to perform regular scans with the antivirus software and keep the operating system and applications updated to the latest versions.

If you receive text messages or emails from unknown persons with titles such as 'COVID-19 Response' or 'Verification of COVID-19 Infected or Contact Person Identity,' do not open or access them carelessly.

First, check if the email address is suspicious, such as '@naver-com.cc', '@goog1e.com', or 'dauum.net', and do not open unexpected work emails or spam mails. Be doubly suspicious of emails or text messages with provocative subjects, and if you receive suspicious emails, verify the sender through other communication methods such as phone calls or texts.

The financial authorities also urged caution when opening emails impersonating the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, prosecutors, police, the Financial Supervisory Service, or mask and thermometer manufacturers and sellers. Do not download or run files from unclear sources, and be cautious when installing smartphone applications outside official stores.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, the financial authorities issued guidelines to financial companies to have employees working from home use work devices with security measures applied and to comply with internal security measures when accessing remotely.

Last month, the government issued a financial IT crisis alert level 'Attention' and disseminated precautions regarding COVID-19-related cyberattacks to financial companies and others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.