Tag Archives: Phishing

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Malware Hidden In Emails About Flu Protection

Fear is a fantastic way to spread malware, which is why hackers around the world are using the fear of a flu pandemic as a hook to install a nasty strain of ransomware.

Researchers at MyOnlineSecurity have detected a cunning email campaign which spoofs the Centers for Disease Control and bears headlines warning of a Flu Pandemic.

The message is short and to the point, explaining that a flu pandemic has been detected and urges recipients to read the attached document for further instructions to protect their families and help keep it from spreading.  The instructions also helpfully include the note that in order to view the document properly you’ll need to click the ‘Enable Editing’ button.

The attachment bears the name “Flu Pandemic Warning,” which reinforces the message itself. It’s an excellent choice from the perspective of the hackers, because they know that a relatively high percentage of those who receive this message from what appears to be a trusted agency will open it.

Unfortunately, the moment they open the file and click to enable editing, they doom themselves.  The word document is poisoned and contains scripts that will install the GrandCrab v5.2 ransomware on the victim’s machine, which will promptly lock their files and demand a hefty payment.

While this is a nasty and especially effective campaign, it’s not the only one that the creators of Grand Crab are engaged in.  Recently, the Chinese government issued their own alert, stating that beginning on March 11, various government departments were bombarded with phishing-style emails intent on installing ransomware on their servers.

All that to say, vigilance is more important now than ever.  There’s no telling how long this campaign will run, or what may come after it, but one thing you can be sure of.  They’re not going to stop.

 

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Phishing Attack Targets Amex And Netflix Users

If you do business with either American Express (AMEX) or Netflix, be on the alert.  Windows Defender Security Intel has recently reported the detection of two major new phishing-style campaigns aimed at the customers of both businesses.

Recipients have been receiving emails that appear identical to official Netflix and American Express communications.

In both cases, the ultimate goal is to convince customers to hand over their credit or debit card information. Microsoft has sent a couple of different tweets out about the issue.  One of them assures customers that “Machine learning and detonation-based protections in Office 365 ATP protect customers against both campaigns.”

And another warned that “The Netflix campaign lures recipients into giving away credit card and SSN info using a ‘Your account is on hold’ email and a well-crafted payment form attached to the email.”

The unfortunate truth is that emails like the ones currently in play are extremely easy to craft and very compelling.  The hackers simply play on the fears of the customer, making it sound as though if they don’t take immediate action they’ll lose access to a valued service they’ve come to rely on.

There’s essentially no cost to the hacker for pushing out hundreds, or even thousands of emails like the ones currently being used. For each victim that falls prey to the tactic, the costs can be enormous.

As ever, the first best line of defense is education and awareness.  In addition to that, if there’s ever any question at all about the status of your account, the best thing you can do is to address the issue via another channel.

In other words, don’t simply reply to the email you received.  Open a new tab, look up the company’s customer support number and call to verify.  Doing so will tell you in short order whether the email you received was legitimate, or someone trying to separate you from your hard-earned money.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Account Email Phishing Attempt Looks Legitimate

Researchers have discovered a pair of nasty phishing campaigns that are making use of Microsoft’s Azure Blob Storage in a bid to steal the recipient’s Microsoft and Outlook account credentials.

Both campaigns are noteworthy in that they utilize well-constructed landing pages that have SSL certificates and a windows.net domain, which combine to make them look totally legitimate.

Given that most users don’t pay close attention to the exact address they’re navigating when they click on a link embedded in an email, these things are more than enough to fool many users. The first campaign relies on some basic social engineering to prompt the user to do something.

The subject lines vary a bit, but fundamentally they are called to action like:

“Action Required: (user’s email address) information is outdated – Re-validate now!”

The body of the email reinforces this point and helpfully contains a link to help you on your way to re-validating your account.  Clicking on the link doesn’t raise suspicion because the landing page is a carbon copy of the Outlook Web App that’s complete with a box that allows you to “validate” your password. Of course, what you’re actually doing is giving your email password to the hackers, who then have unfettered access to your inbox and contact list.

The second campaign is the weaker of the two, although it’s set up much the same way.  The subject line indicates that you need to take action to re-validate your Facebook Workplace service account, but when you click the link, you’re actually taken to a clone of Microsoft’s landing page. This was no doubt a mix-up on the part of the hackers and will be addressed in short order.

In any case, it pays to make sure your employees are aware of both of these, so they don’t inadvertently wind up handing over the keys to their digital kingdom.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Bots Are Attacking Retail Sites On A Large Scale

If you own a retail business, an attack known as “credential stuffing” is the latest online threat to be concerned about.  If you’re not sure what that is, read on and prepare to be dismayed. According to the 2019 State of the Internet, Retail Attacks, and TPI Traffic Report published by Akamai, there has been an surge in large scale botnet attacks against businesses, with retail outlets being the hardest hit.

In fact, according to the report, between May and December of 2018, there were approximately 28 billion credential stuffing attempts made.  One of the web’s largest retail sites suffered over 115 million bot-driven login attempts in a single day.

A spokesman for Akamai had this to say about the report:

“The insidious AIO (all-in-one) bots hackers deploy which are multi-function tools that enable quick purchases by leveraging credential stuffing and a number of evasion techniques, allowing a single AIO bot to have the ability to target more than 120 retailers at once.

A successful AIO campaign may go completely undetected by a retailer, which might see the online sales and record-setting transactions as proof its product is in demand.  They’ll have little to no indication that its inventory clearing was automated and used to fuel a secondary market or scrape information from its customers.”

In most cases, the damage caused by credential stuffing attacks is limited.  Customers whose accounts are compromised may find that they lose points or perks, and that unauthorized charges are made on their accounts. In some cases, a credential stuffing attack could lead to an attacker gaining a foothold inside your corporate network.  Also, large and pervasive attacks could strain web resources and have (on more than one occasion) crashed a web server.

Even in cases where your business isn’t directly impacted, an attack on your customers’ accounts is still an attack on you.  Unfortunately, with so many stolen credentials available on the Dark Web, it’s a notoriously difficult problem to come to grips with.  The best thing you can do is remain vigilant and maintain excellent communications with the customers you serve.

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