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The City of Portland, Oregon

Office of Management & Finance

Bureau of Technology Services

BTS HelpDesk: 503-823-5199

1120 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 1111, Portland, OR 97204

COVID-19 Cyber threats - April 2020

By Christopher Paidhrin

City of Portland Cybersecurity highlights:

  • The City continues to protect and manage City technology networks, servers and computers with robust security capabilities. The City is able to protect laptops even when they are 'off' the City network.
  • Please remember that on Wednesdays to leave your laptops powered on so that they can collect the patches and updates they need.
  • In addition, BTS teams are deploying expanded secure remote access services (VPN) and encouraging all City employees to use Office-365 access whenever possible.

COVID-19 Websites Cyber threats

Not all COVID-19 websites are safe. 48,000 COVID-19 related web domains have been registered this year.

Scammers are eager to cash in on the pandemic.

If you'd like the scary details, Sophos has an article for you: https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2020/03/24/covidmalware/

FBI resource:   https://www.fbi.gov/coronavirus

COVID-19 Malware and Ransomware threats

Not only are there misleading websites there are a myriad of malware and ransomware threats. Several links are included, below, to narrow your research.

Quick To Do List:

  • Don't Click on unfamiliar hyperlinks
  • Don't download unsolicited attachments
  • Don't provide confidential information without verifying the request
  • Remember that BTS HelpDesk will never ask for your password
  • Remember that no one should ever ask for your username and password, or ask to use them. Ever.
  • Contact the HelpDesk immediately if you think you may have been phished. 503.823.5199

COVID-19 malware and ransomware resources:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-coronavirus-themed-malware-locks-you-out-of-windows/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-coronavirus-ransomware-acts-as-cover-for-kpot-infostealer/

https://www.itproportal.com/news/new-coronavirus-malware-trashes-windows-pcs/

https://blog.checkpoint.com/2020/04/02/coronavirus-update-in-the-cyber-world-the-graph-has-yet-to-flatten/

Be safe when you go outside, and when you go online.

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