'Action Required: Department of Health Invitation (COVID-19 Contact Tracing)' Email Virus

Many organizations and regular users from Australia report to have received a suspicious email regarding the Coronavirus pandemic that is still plaguing the globe. The goal of the email is to infect the users’ systems with a threatening payload. The fraudulent emails claim to be sent by the Australian Government Department of Health directly. The ‘Action Required: Department of Health Invitation (COVID-19 Contact Tracing)’ email claims that the recipients need to subject themselves to a Coronavirus test as soon as possible because a cluster of cases has been detected in their area. The fraudulent message goes on to say that the attached file contains information regarding the testing. The name of the attachment is ‘Document.iso.’

Many cyber crooks have jumped on the Coronavirus train and are propagating various online tactics and low-level threats. However, the threat propagated via the ‘Action Required: Department of Health Invitation (COVID-19 Contact Tracing)’ email campaign is not one to be underestimated. The operators of the ‘Action Required: Department of Health Invitation (COVID-19 Contact Tracing)’ email tactic are distributing the NanoCore RAT (Remote Access Trojan). This RAT is a very high-profile threat that can allow the attackers to take complete control over the compromised host. This means that the operators of the threat will be able to get access to the victim’s login credentials, files and settings of the PC.

Since the COVID-19-themed bogus email campaigns are gaining traction the past few months, users are advised to be very wary whenever they receive an email regarding this topic. Unless you have full faith in the source sending the email, it is best to ignore Coronavirus-themed emails as they are a preferred infection vector by numerous cybercriminals worldwide.

If you happen to be a recipient of the ‘Action Required: Department of Health Invitation (COVID-19 Contact Tracing)’ email, do not click on any links provided or open any attached files. Make sure your system is protected by a genuine anti-virus solution that will not allow malware like the NanoCore RAT anywhere near it.