LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — The University of Kansas is warning employees and students about new cyber-threats related to the coronavirus. The KU IT Security Office has received reports from the federal government as well as nearly 100 reports from members of the KU community that criminals are using the COVID-19 pandemic to send phishing messages, malicious attachments and links to malicious websites. These messages claim to offer COVID-19 infection maps, official notices and other misinformation. Other malicious information may be delivered via text message, WhatsApp, TikTok and other social media platforms. Attackers know people are frightened, that the situation is continually changing and confusing and that people are hungry for information. This makes everyone more vulnerable to social engineering and cyber-attacks.
The best source of information on COVID-19 is coronavirus.gov.
KU’s official COVID-19 website is coronavirus.ku.edu.
Any KU students or employees receiving a suspicious message should not respond, click on links or open any attachments. Instead, such messages should be forwarded to abuse@ku.edu and then deleted immediately.
For more information about cyber-threats and COVID-19, visit the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency website.
