Quote:Last week, we talked to a panel of top epidemiologists to understand the infection risks involved in touching the porous and non-porous surfaces we encounter daily with tech devices. The general advice was not to worry too much about it, but wash your hands. Since then, the coronavirus has reached pandemic-level classification, and our readers have numerous questions and concerns.
 
Over the course of the weekend, we packaged up a bunch of those questions and sent them off to Dr. Amesh Adalia of Johns Hopkins and Dr. Brian Labus of UNLV. Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FIDSA, FACP, FACEP is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Brian Labus, PhD, MPH, REHS is an assistant professor at the School of Public Health, University of Nevada Las Vegas. He's also a registered environmental health specialist and an expert in outbreak investigation.
 
Without further ado, let's get to the questions and answers. Afterwards, I have some informal survey results to share with you about how your fellow readers are dealing with this threat. [....]

Quote:The public are being urged to follow online safety advice as evidence emerges that criminals are exploiting the Coronavirus online. 

Experts from the National Cyber Security Centre have revealed a range of attacks being perpetrated online as cyber criminals seek to exploit COVID-19.

Techniques seen since the start of the year include bogus emails with links claiming to have important updates, which once clicked on lead to devices being infected.

These ‘phishing’ attempts have been seen in several countries and can lead to loss of money and sensitive data.

The NCSC, a part of GCHQ created to keep the UK safe online, is urging businesses and the public to consult its online guidance, including how to spot and deal with suspicious emails as well as mitigate and defend against malware and ransomware.

 In addition, in recent days the NCSC has taken measures to automatically discover and remove malicious sites which serve phishing and malware. These sites use COVID-19 and Coronavirus as a lure to make victims ‘click the link’.

Paul Chichester, Director of Operations at the NCSC, said:
“We know that cyber criminals are opportunistic and will look to exploit people’s fears, and this has undoubtedly been the case with the Coronavirus outbreak.
“Our advice to the public is to follow our guidance, which includes everything from password advice to spotting suspect emails.
“In the event that someone does fall victim to a phishing attempt, they should look to report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible.”