Look out! Running a fraudulent email on behalf of the Cybersecurity Center

His a fraudulent email on behalf of the National Cyber Security Center (CNCS) to circulate and the organization has issued an alert so that it will not become one of the possible victims. This is a “malaria distribution campaign”. 

On social networks, on Wednesday, the National Cybersecurity Center reported that “a malware distribution campaign, through email, in which is used illegitimately, the name of the National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS), leading the recipient to access a critical system update request because of a supposed vulnerability”. 

The aim of this campaign, the CNCS continued, “is to lead the victim to follow the steps indicated in the email and click on a link to download a file that, after running, allows the malicious agent to remote control the computer.”

If you receive a communication with these features, it is indicated that you should notify it via the email or MyCiber platform: https://myciber.gov.pt/

“THE CNCS does not use this contact format to request the correction of vulnerabilities”, is also described.

And how to protect me? CNCS makes recommendations

In order to protect itself from fraudulent situations, the National Cybersecurity Center left, in the same publication, some recommendations that should be followed.

Here are the good practices of CNCS: 

• “ When contacted, confirm the veracity of the email address or source profile;
• Distrust emails with formal language or accentuation errors;
• Distrust urgent messages that ask to download files or to click links;
• Report to the cybersecurity or information security officers of your organisation or to the authorities where you are the target or victim of such an attack;
• Be attentive and do not be persuaded without reflection by authoritarian requests or urgent requests.”

At the end of the message, the CNCS reinforced “the importance of the continuous adoption of safe behaviors in the use of e-mail, thus contributing to its protection and organization”, pointing out that “such campaigns often use the name of state bodies fraudulently.“