High Profile Organizations that Have Been Phished

Cyber Attack, Hacking, malware, Phishing, Phishing Email, Ransomware, Security, Security Threats, , , , , ,
02
Oct 2018

Phishing is now so prevalent and sophisticated that even the biggest organizations on the planet are likely to be duped by phishing scams.

Immunity from such attacks is a difficult privilege to secure, so any organization that wants to remain productive needs to understand the threats out there. While you would expect most phishing attacks to target smaller, less secure organizations, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, many hackers are taking on high profile organizations due to the challenge on offer and the publicity that such attacks bring.

Understanding how these businesses have been phished is crucial as it helps you to understand exactly why you need good security. To provide you with a foundation of knowledge, we’re going to look at some high profile organizations that have been phished.

Facebook and Google

Two of the biggest names in business on the planet, Facebook and Google found themselves at the center of the same phishing scam a couple of years ago.

Evaldas Rimasauskas, from Lithuania, used a simple phishing campaign whereby he posed as the head of a Taiwanese parts manufacturer called Quanta. Key to this scam was that Facebook and Google both used the genuine Quanta company to conduct business with. Through a combination of compromised emails, forged invoices and a lack of suspicion on the two tech giants’ behalf, around $100 million was paid out to Rimasauskas between 2013 – 2015.

Anthem

Anthem is one of the largest health insurance companies in the US and, as you can imagine, they hold a substantial amount of private and confidential data. However, in 2014 they lost nearly 78.8 million consumer records due to a phishing attack.

It’s believed that a foreign government was behind the attack, but the method employed was still ridiculously straightforward. An employee at an Anthem subsidiary opened a phishing email which allowed malicious content to be downloaded to the employee’s PC. Once these files were executed, hackers were able to take control of the PC by remote access and start making their way deep into the Anthem network. One of the sections that were of most interest was Anthem’s data warehouse where the hackers had access to customers’ medical histories, social security numbers and address details.

Snapchat

The popular social media app Snapchat found one of its employees being targeted by a spear phishing scam in 2016 which compromised confidential data.

A seemingly innocuous email was sent to Snapchat’s payroll department in February 2016 which claimed to have been written by the company’s CEO. The email requested that employee payroll information was forwarded on for internal reference. Unfortunately, one of the payroll employees did not realize this was a less than genuine request. A significant amount of personal information about former and current employees was then emailed to an external party. Due to the nature of the data obtained, hackers then had the potential to use it to engineer identity theft.

RSA Security

Even IT security companies aren’t safe from the threat of phishing emails as RSA security discovered back in 2011.

Hackers designed two separate emails which were sent to four employees at RSA’s parent company EMC. The emails, which appeared to be from a recruitment website, contained an attachment referred to as ‘2011 Recruitment plan.xls” in the email’s subject line. However, this was a malicious attachment and, upon clicking it, a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash would be exploited and lead to the download of a backdoor virus onto the user’s PC. The hackers were then able to access RSA’s network where they had access to 44 million employee records.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

US Banks Targeted by Trickbot Malware

Cyber Attack, Hacking, malware, Security, trickbot, ,
03
Oct 2017

Necurs

Personal financial information is always highly private, so if this is compromised it’s a real invasion of privacy. Sadly, US banks are now under attack from malware.

Driven by the infamous Necurs hacking botnet, Trickbot is a form of malware that is currently carrying out sustained spam campaigns against US banks. It’s a cyber-attack which has been targeting financial organizations for around a year now, but it’s only recently that these attacks have been focusing on US banks.

Now, the majority of adults in the US use online banking services, so this is the kind of attack which needs to be brought to the attention of the masses. And, not only is there a security lesson for consumers to be found within this attack, but there’s also plenty for organizations to learn about good security practices.

TRICKBOT-BSS-IMAGE-

Tricky Trickbot

Trickbot utilizes, as its name suggests, trickery to achieve its nefarious needs and, in particular, it embraces a redirection scheme. Usually, when you’re transferred from one webpage to another then you can clearly see that the URL changes in your browser to demonstrate where you’re heading to. However, when being redirected by malware, the victim is first sent to an alternate website on a completely different server. As a live connection is kept with the intended website – in this instance an online banking service – this remains displayed with the user’s browser.

And lurking on these alternate websites is the malware’s malicious payload. In the case of Trickbot, these websites use webinjection to infect the victims with JavaScript and HTML coding which go on to steal login details and financial coding from affected users. Naturally, with this sort of sensitive data, hackers can go on to cause widespread damage to individuals finances, but how do people fall foul of these malware scams?

According to the security experts at Flashpoint, Trickbot is spreading its reach through the use of huge spam email campaigns. An example of this was seen in a spam email which claimed to be a bill from an Australian telecommunications organization, but actually contained JavaScript code which activated the Trickbot loader and compromised browsers in what is known as a man-in-the-browser attack.

Trickbot, however, is not a new, unique threat and Flashpoint believes that Trickbot is related to the Dyre banking Trojan which was last active in 2015. The build of both Trickbot and Dyre, so it would appear that either source code is being recycled or members of the same team are involved.

2302145_orig

How to Beat Trickbot

The key to beating Trickbot and not falling victim to its trickery is by simply verifying the emails in your inbox. And the most important checks to make are:

  • Do you recognize the sender of the email? If it’s an unusual or unknown sender name then just ignore it and, if it comes complete with an attachment, definitely ignore it.
  • What is the email asking for? Financial organizations, for example, will never email you to request sensitive data or to head online and enter this data into websites.
  • Are there any links in the email? If they have an unusual address you don’t recognize then don’t click on them as they could be sending you anywhere. And, even if the link reads as a genuine URL, this could still be disguising an alternate URL – hover over the link with your mouse to reveal the true direction of the link.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

5 Ways to Spot a Phishing Email Before it’s too Late

Security,
20
Sep 2016

phishingPhishing emails represent a huge risk to your business’ data security, so it’s crucial that you can identify the unmistakable signs of a phishing email.

Data released by the Anti-Phishing Working Group has revealed a huge spike in phishing websites of 250% in Q1 2016. This represents a concerted effort by hackers to target unsuspecting computer users through a relatively old method of cyber-crime.

However, you don’t have to fall foul of the hackers’ attempts to extract sensitive data out of you. And if you follow my 5 ways to spot a phishing email you should be safer than ever!

1. Asks for Personal Information

xphishing-example-6.png.pagespeed.ic.HAQkjzgBUe

A legitimate email will never ask you to disclose personal information, but a phishing email will, literally, be fishing for this information. For example, your bank will never email you and request your online banking details for ‘verification’ purposes.

Your bank wouldn’t need to verify this as they would already have the definitive details on their database, but you would be surprised by how many people fall for this scam.

2. Spelling Mistakes

Big brands take their marketing very seriously, so any emails released by them will have been crafted by people who know how to write. And, more importantly, they’ll know how to spell!

Hackers, on the other hand, aren’t well known for their dedication to spelling and grammar. That’s why their phishing emails are littered with spelling mistakes. If you pick up on at least one spelling mistake, then that’s enough to start treading carefully.

3. Mismatched Links

Amazon-Customers-Tricked-with-Ticket-Verification-Number-Phishing-Email-473445-2

In order to drive you towards phishing websites (which can install malware and steal data from you), hackers need to trick you into clicking their links. Now, a quirk of web design is that your link can say something like bankofamerica.com but the coding behind this link will actually send you somewhere else.

And the best way to test a link is to simply hover your mouse cursor over the link, a small preview window of the actual link will then appear and you can judge whether this is genuine or not.

4. Misleading Display Names

nigerian-prince

Phishing emails attempt to gain your trust by spoofing the sender’s display name, so you need to be vigilant that you don’t take this at face value. Many pieces of email software will, by default, only show the sender’s display name in your inbox.

And this display name can be changed to anything the hacker wants. For example, if you receive an email which has a display name of ‘Microsoft Security Team’ it doesn’t mean the email has actually been sent by the Microsoft Security Team!

When you look a little closer at the email, you’ll discover that the email address it has been sent from isn’t a genuine Microsoft one, so it’s time to delete that email!

5. Threatening Content

Many hackers hope to intimidate email recipients in order to deceive them into clicking their links or downloading their attachments. It may be that they claim they’re from a government agency such as the FBI and that they’re accusing you of illegal activity.

With this fear in mind, many users feel as though they have to comply with the email’s demands, especially when it’s accompanied by official logos and signatures. However, no matter what you think of the government, they are not going to send you threatening emails which demand money, so please feel confident in deleting these!

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

5 Email Security Tips for Small Businesses

Security,
25
Jan 2016

Email Security

Email security is a crucial focus for your business, but as it offers a gateway into your systems you need to understand how to keep it secure.

If your email security is below standard then you’re opening up your network and sensitive data to the mercy of malicious software e.g. trojan horses, malware and viruses which can really disrupt your business and compromise your data.

No business wants this type of risk bubbling away in the background, so we’re going to take you through 5 essential tips which will ensure your emails are secure.

1. Does It Have to Be Emailed?

There’s a tendency to assume that because email is available it has to be used. And many people feel that, seeing as email servers have plenty of storage, that all those attachments are just fine to be stored there.

However, both these methods ensure that data is readily available should your servers be hacked.

Therefore, if you’ve got a highly important report which contains sensitive data it may be best to seek an alternative delivery method e.g. via courier. And do attachments need to stay on the email server? No, they don’t. They can easily be archived to external hard drives which offer security and plenty of retrieval options.

2. Don’t Access Emails from Public Networks

6_secure_email_iStock

It seems as though everywhere you go these days there’s a public wifi network that you can hop onto in a couple of seconds. This accessibility means you can connect with your emails no matter where you are, so many people take advantage of it.

However, the security of these public networks can never be predicted. Due to their ubiquity they’re also the regular targets of hackers. This means that secure data such as your passwords are at risk and this can grant hackers a foothold in your system.

Sometimes, though, you’re going to need to access your emails on the move, so connecting via a public network will be your only option. To protect against any viable security threats, the best practice is to employ two factor authentication for your email servers to provide extra security.

3. Password Resets

padlock-security-protection-hacking

Employees love to keep their password the same for as long as possible because it means it’s easy to remember. And the easier to remember it is, the less chance there is that they’ll have to go through the hassle of ringing their IT department to reset it.

However, this type of complacency leads to your emails becoming vulnerable as it becomes easier to infiltrate your system over a long period of time.

That’s why we would recommend that your email software forces users to routinely change their password every 4 – 6 weeks. And if emails are entered incorrectly 3 times then make sure that email account is locked straightaway!

4. Filter All Attachments

Malicious content is most likely to enter your business’ network through email attachments, so it’s vital that you set up email filters to protect your business. These filters will help block any suspicious attachments and give you the time to review them before releasing them into your system.

Remember, hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are able to package malicious software into seemingly innocent files e.g. a spreadsheet entitled “Monthly Sales Report” may appear genuine, but something nasty may be lurking in the background.

5. Train Your Staff on Email Security

email security training

Staff, of course, represent the final wall between emails and your servers, so it’s important they receive training on email security.

This should be carried out upon their induction into your company, but it’s also a good idea to regularly email updates around warning of any on-going threats. This knowledge allows them to understand what they should be looking out for and helps keep your email security sage.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More

More Tips When Outlook Won’t Send Email

Internet, ,
10
Sep 2015

goodbye-hotmail-hello-outlook-com-review--eef5dd1b88

It’s always frustrating when you’ve got an urgent message to send, but Outlook won’t send email. Here are some basic fixes to common problems sending email.

You see, there’s a number of steps and processes you can go through to get that email hightailing its way to its recipient, so let’s take a look at what you can do.

Large Attachments Can Get Stuck

outlook-attachment-above-20

Even in this age of superfast internet access, Outlook doesn’t always handle large attachments very well. Therefore, you may not be able to send that attachment in your email.

If you find that an email with a large attachment is stuck in your outbox then the best thing to do is delete it because it’s not going anywhere.

The best way around this issue is to store the attachment on an internal server (if it’s within your business) or an external storage space e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive and then email a link to this file to the intended recipient.

Is Your Mail Server Online?

unplugged

Mail servers aren’t perfect – especially during busy periods when they’re working overtime to deliver email.

To find out whether your server is connected you just need to look at the bottom right hand side of Outlook where you’ll see one of the following:

  • Connected to
  • Disconnected
  • Trying to connect …

If you find yourself disconnected then it’s a good time to check your network cables. If this doesn’t solve the problem then try restarting your PC before contacting your IT support team.

Have You Set up Your Email Account?

If you haven’t configured your email account correctly then you won’t even have the option of a ‘Send’ button.

In this situation you need to go through the following steps:

  1. Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings
  2. Access the ‘Add Account Wizard’ by clicking on the Email tab and click New.
  3. Click next to bring up the ‘Email Account Configuration’ page and fill in all the boxes e.g. name, email address and password.
  4. Click Next and let Outlook test that it can connect to the server with your information. If it gets the green light from Outlook then hit Finish.

Using Office 365? Make Sure You’re Logged In!

Office-365

A common mistake with users of Office 365 is to try and send emails when they aren’t logged into the platform correctly!

To make sure this never happens always log in using your full Office 365 username e.g. ophtek@contoso.onmicrosoft.com and not just ‘ophtek’ as you’ll fail to log in and send any emails!

Changed Your Password Recently?

If you’ve changed the password on one of your internet mail accounts e.g. Gmail, then you have to make sure that it’s updated in Outlook too. After all, Outlook may be clever, but it’s not a mind reader!

If you need to change your password in this manner then just follow the steps below:

  1. Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings
  2. Select your internet email account from the Email tab and hit change
  3. Update the new password in the password box and click next
  4. Allow Outlook to test this new password before clicking Close > Finish

These tips should hopefully mean you never have to lose your cool when trying to send that all important email!

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Read More
1 2 3