Cyberattacks on law firms have been steadily increasing over the past three years. According to data from PwC’s annual Law Firms Survey last year, 73% of the UK’s top 100 law firms have been attacked by cybercriminals in the past year. In 2014/2015, 62% of the top 100 law firms were attacked. The previous year the figure stood at 45%. In the past two years, cyberattacks on law firms have increased by a staggering 60%.
According to PwC’s figures, large law firms are the most frequently targeted. 90% of the top 25 legal firms had experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months. The types of attacks are highly varied, although the most common way attacks occur is via the firm’s email system.
Spear phishing emails are sent to solicitors in an attempt to obtain banking credentials and access to email accounts. When solicitors respond to these phishing emails and divulge their banking credentials, client funds are transferred to the criminals’ accounts. According to the survey, 84% of legal firms said they had experienced a phishing attack in the past year.
Solicitors in the UK and Ireland and attorneys in the United States are also being sent bogus emails that claim to be from home buyers or sellers. Instructions are provided asking for funds to be transferred to alternate accounts. Hackers eavesdrop on email conversations and are aware when funds are about to be transferred. They then sent an email to an attorney/solicitor posing as the buyer/seller of a property and provide alternate bank accounts asking for the funds to be transferred to the new account.
Buyers and sellers of properties are also targeted in a similar fashion. They are sent emails with the hacker claiming to be their solicitor. Alternate bank account details are provided for transfers. This is now one of the main types of cyberattacks on law firms and their clients.
Direct attacks on networks still occur, with hackers taking advantage of vulnerabilities in security defenses. However, law firm hacking only accounts for around 16% of incidents. Malware is a much bigger threat. Malware is delivered via spam email or drive-by downloads from the Web. 55% of legal firms say they have experienced a malware attack in the past 12 months. Malware can be ransomware – which locks computers with powerful encryption until a ransom payment is made or keyloggers that record sensitive data such as usernames and passwords. Malware can also enable criminals to gain access to systems to steal sensitive data and extort money out of law firms.
Law firm cyberattacks can be costly to resolve; however, the biggest cost can be loss of reputation. If law firms suffer cyberattacks and client data is stolen or exposed, reputations can be permanently damaged. Legal firms that are unable to ensure that their clients’ information remains confidential may find the cost of removing malware the least of their problems.
To prevent phishing emails and malware from being delivered to inboxes, an advanced spam filter is required. SpamTitan includes a powerful anti-phishing component that recognizes the common signatures of phishing emails and ensures they are not delivered. SpamTitan also blocks 100% of known malware and ransomware, ensuring end users do not receive malicious email attachments and links to malware-ridden websites.
To find out how SpamTitan can improve your security posture, contact the TitanHQ team today and take the first step toward preventing your law firm from being added to next year’s PwC’s law firm cyberattack statistics.
Anti-phishing training can help an organization improve its security posture. However, even with training on phishing email identification, employees still fail to spot many email scams. Anti-phishing training alone is insufficient to prevent successful phishing attacks.
The Threat from Phishing is Growing
Your business is likely to be bombarded with phishing emails, especially at this time of year. Tax season sees millions of emails sent to businesses by cybercriminals who want access to employees’ W-2 Forms. However, phishing is a year-round problem. It has been estimated that an astonishing 156 million phishing emails are now being sent every single day.
As we have already seen this year, phishing scams can be highly convincing. Many businesses have discovered employees have responded to these scams in the belief that the email requests are genuine. The cost of those phishing attacks can be considerable for businesses, their customers and their employees.
Anti-Phishing Training Alone will Not Prevent Successful Phishing Attacks
To ensure employees are prepared, many businesses provide employees with anti-phishing training. They teach staff members how to identify phishing scams and the tell-tale signs that email requests are not genuine.
How effective is anti-phishing training? A recent analysis by Diligent showed that the average score on its phishing test was 76%. That means employees are failing to identify phishing scams 24% of the time and all it takes is one response to a phishing email for an employee’s email account to be compromised, a network login to be handed to cybercriminals, or the W-2 Forms of an entire workforce to be emailed to tax fraudsters.
Fortunately, as PhishMe’s data shows, with practice, employees get much better at identifying phishing emails. Providing training and conducting follow up tests using dummy phishing emails helps to show where training has failed. This allows organizations to provide further training to employees whose phishing email identification skills are poor. However, even with training and testing it will never be possible to ensure that 100% of employees identify 100% of phishing emails 100% of the time.
The Best Phishing Defense is to Prevent Phishing Emails from Being Delivered
Training should be provided and employees’ anti-phishing skills should be tested with dummy phishing exercises, but organizations should ensure that phishing emails are not delivered to end users’ inboxes. That means an advanced, powerful spam filtering solution is required.
SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam emails from being delivered. SpamTitan also includes a powerful anti-phishing component to block phishing attacks. However, blocking potentially malicious emails is only part of the story. It is also important to choose a solution that does not prevent genuine emails from being delivered.
Independent tests by VB Bulletin confirm SpamTitan has a consistently low false positive rate. Only 0.03% of genuine emails trigger SpamTitan’s anti-spam filters. The excellent catch rates and low false positives have seen SpamTitan win 36 consecutive VB Bulletin Anti-Spam Awards.
SpamTitan is available as a gateway appliance or a cloud-based solution, with both requiring minimal IT support. To suit the needs of service providers, the cloud-based version is available in a private cloud and is supplied in white-label format ready for rebranding.
The cost-effective solution is easy to implement, use and maintain and can be used to protect a limitless number of email accounts.
If you want to keep your employees’ inboxes free from phishing emails, malware, and ransomware, call the TitanHQ Sales Team today and say a fond farewell to email spam.
Another school phishing email attack has resulted in the W-2 Form data of school employees being emailed to tax fraudsters. This time, it was employees of Mercer County Schools in West Virginia whose data have been compromised.
The FBI has been called in to investigate the W-2 phishing scam and the IRS has been notified of the incident, while affected employees have been offered services to help them protect their identities.
The school phishing email attack is just one of many such attacks that have occurred this year. While businesses have been extensively targeted in the past, phishing attacks on schools are now commonplace. The problem has become so severe that the IRS recently issued a warning to schools of the risk of phishing email attacks, saying “This is one of the most dangerous email phishing scams we’ve seen in a long time.”
The Mercer County School District phishing attack was almost a carbon copy of many other tax season attacks this year. Already, there have been more than 29,000 victims of these attacks and there is still two months of tax season remaining.
The school phishing email attack involved the sending of an email to an employee in the HR/payroll department requesting a copy of W-2 Forms for all employees that worked in the previous fiscal year. The email was sent from an email account that was very similar to that used by the chief supervisor.
The email contained a slight variation from the genuine email address, which was enough to fool the recipient into thinking the email had been sent from the supervisor’s account. The employee then sent the W-2 forms of 1,800 staff members to the attackers as requested.
Databreaches.net has been tracking this year’s W-2 phishing scams and is maintaining a list of all organizations that have been scammed into revealing W-2 Form data. The list shows that school districts are being extensively targeted. Successful W-2 phishing attacks have been reported by the following schools and school districts in the past 6 weeks:
Argyle School District, TX
Belton Independent School District, TX
Bloomington Public Schools, MN
College of Southern Idaho, ID
Davidson County Schools, NC
Dracut Schools, MA
Lexington School District 2, SC
Manatee County School District, FL
Mohave Community College, AZ
Morton School District, IL
Odessa School District, WA
Tipton County Schools, TN
The Manatee County School District phishing attack resulted in the W-2 Form data of 7,900 employees being emailed to the scammers: The biggest school phishing email attack of the year to date. The Bloomington Public Schools attack also resulted in thousands of employees’ W-2 Forms being disclosed.
There are a number of measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of phishing attacks such as these. Training should be provided to HR and payroll staff and they should be instructed to carefully check senders’ email addresses to ensure the correct account has been used. Policies should also be developed requiring any W-2 Form requests to be verified with the sender via the telephone, using previously confirmed contact details.
It is also essential to implement a spam filtering solution with a powerful anti-phishing component. This will help to ensure that the emails are not delivered to inboxes. A spam filtering solution will also block malware and ransomware emails from being delivered. The latter types of malicious emails have also been a major problem for school districts over the past year.
An often forgotten anti-phishing measure is a web filter. Web filters block the web-based component of phishing attacks. If a link is clicked in a phishing email, the web filter will prevent the website from being accessed where credentials are harvested.
For more information on improving your defenses against phishing, give the TitanHQ team a call. The team will talk you through your options and will be able to help get you started with a free trial of SpamTitan Email Security and the WebTitan Web Filtering solution.
Email archiving is essential for most businesses; however, many businesses are not using a cloud-based email archiving solution. In fact, a large number rely on email backups, even though backups are impractical and data loss is a very real concern. But what are the benefits of secure, cloud-based email archiving over backups?
Loss of Email Simply isn’t an Option
Hillary Clinton could easily explain one of the most important benefits of a cloud-based email archiving solution. If an email archive is stored locally, should the device on which that archive is stored be lost or stolen, the entire archive would never be seen again. That is exactly what happened last year.
Donald Trump was quick to criticize Hillary Clinton. Not only was that archive lost, it could potentially have been accessed by an unauthorized individual. Donald Trump is keen not to make a similar mistake. He has reportedly started using a messaging app that deletes all messages once they have been read. Such an app would certainly prevent accidental disclosure, although it would not be an option for many businesses as regulations require emails to be kept for a number of years.
Loss of email is simply not an option in regulated industries. Big fines await companies who do not archive or backup their emails. Emails must be securely stored and made available to auditors or organizations will be in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, FINRA, HIPAA, and the Gramm-Leach-Billey Act to name but a few. If a backup or local email archive is lost, the consequences can be severe.
Take healthcare organizations for example. If a laptop computer is stolen and email backups containing electronic protected health information were on the device, those data could potentially be accessed by an unauthorized individual. That would be a violation of HIPAA Rules. The Office for Civil Rights could easily fine a healthcare organization millions of dollars for such a data breach. If emails are archived and stored in the cloud, such a breach would not occur in the event of device loss or theft.
Emails Must Be Found Quickly for Legal Discovery and GDPR
If a lawsuit is filed against a company, it may be necessary to provide copies of emails as part of legal discovery. While many companies store old emails in backups, searching for emails can be a difficult, expensive and long-winded process. For an average-sized organization searching for emails could take weeks, even though emails need to be found in minutes. With an email archiving solution, archived messages can be searched and retrieved in a matter of seconds or minutes, not weeks.
A similar scenario exists for data access requests under the EU´s General Data Protection Regulation. EU citizens now have the right to request details of any data that could be used to identify them, modify it where necessary, and erase it is there is justifiable cause. Businesses maintaining a database of EU citizens will find compliance with GDPR much easier by implementing cloud-based email archiving, which also has the benefit of complying with the regulations relating to data security.
Considering the volume of emails now being sent, and the requirement for those emails to be kept for years in many cases, the space required for storing email is considerable. A recent report from Radicati Group suggests the average employee sends or receives 121 emails a day. For an organization with 500 employees that is 60,500 emails a day. With 22 working days each month, that amounts to 15,972,000 emails a year. Each of those emails may only be a few KB, but over a year the storage space required is substantial. Cloud-based email archiving not only allows millions of emails to be stored, there is no need for organizations to purchase any hardware for storage. All emails are securely stored in the cloud.
ArcTitan – Secure, Cloud-Based Email Archiving for Enterprises of All Sizes
The benefits of secure, cloud-based email archiving are clear. So what options are available that provide all of the benefits of cloud-based email archiving in an easy to use, cost effective package? To meet businesses’ email archiving needs, TitanHQ is offering ArcTitan – a secure, cloud-based email archiving solution that allows organizations to meet compliance requirements, search email archives quickly, and retrieve messages in minutes. ArcTitan has excellent scalability, and can be used for old email storage by companies with ten to 10,000+ email accounts.
Emails can be archived from anywhere at any time, and messages can be accessed via a mail client or browser. Furthermore, with a pay as you go subscription, cloud-based email archiving is affordable for businesses of all sizes.
Key Features of ArcTitan
Scalable, email archiving that grows with your business
Email data stored securely in the cloud on Replicated Persistent Storage on AWS S3
Lightning fast searches – Search 30 million emails a second
Rapid archiving at up to 200 emails a second
Automatic backups of the archive
Email archiving with no impact on network performance
Ensure an exact, tamperproof copy of all emails is retained
Easy data retrieval for eDiscovery
Protection for email from cyberattacks
Eliminate PSTs and other security risks
Facilitates policy-based access rights and role-based access
Only pay for active users
Slashes the time and cost of eDiscovery other formal searches
Migration tools to ensure the integrity of data during transfer
Seamless integration with Outlook
Supports, single sign-on
Save and combine searches
Perform multiple searches simultaneously
Limits IT department involvement in finding lost email – users can access their own archived email
Compliant with regulations such as HIPAA, SOX, GDPR, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, etc.
To find out more about the benefits of ArcTitan, contact the TitanHQ sales team today!
Spammers and scammers are constantly updating their malware distribution tactics to ensure their malicious payloads are delivered to unsuspecting end users. However, Microsoft has spotted a major change to malware distribution tactics used by cybercriminals. The change has prompted the software giant to issue a new warning.
Malware, including ransomware, is commonly distributed via spam email. Links to malicious websites are used in an attempt to bypass spam filter controls; however, malicious attachments are the delivery mechanism of choice for many cybercriminal gangs. Malicious links are commonly blocked by web filtering solutions – WebTitan for example prevents all users from visiting websites known to be malicious.
To bypass spam filter controls, attachments rarely include the actual malware or ransomware files, instead the files contain scripts that download the malicious payload.
One of the most common methods of downloading malware is JavaScript code. JavaScript files are typically included in ZIP files. If the files are extracted and opened, the malicious code runs. A connection is opened to the attackers’ servers and malicious files are silently downloaded.
However, JavaScript files are not typically used by the majority of end users. These files are therefore not always opened. Furthermore, spam filters can identify JavaScript files even when they are included in compressed files. Later this month, Google will also start blocking emails with JavaScript attachments and will not allow them to be sent via Gmail.
Due to the ease at which these malicious downloaders are being identified, malware distribution tactics have been changed. Rather than use these suspect files, cybercriminals have switched to file types that are less obviously malicious. Microsoft has noticed a trend for using LNK files and SVG files containing malicious PowerShell scripts.
LNK files are Windows shortcut files which usually point to some form of executable file. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files are image files, and are much more innocuous. These files are typically opened with image software such as Adobe Creative Suite or Illustrator. Double clicking on these malicious LNK and SVG files will launch PowerShell scripts that download malware or ransomware.
Protecting against these types of attacks may seem fairly straightforward. It is possible, for example, to set restrictions on PowerShell commands to prevent them from running. However, even with restrictions in place, those policies can be easily bypassed. Intel Security has recently explained one such method: “PowerShell’s Get-Content can access the content of a .ps2 malware script and pass it to Invoke-Expression (iex) for execution.”
In the case of SVG files, it is relatively straightforward to include obfuscated JavaScript code in the image files. This JavaScript code may not be detected by software solutions and therefore could be delivered to end users’ inboxes.
There is of course an easy way to block these new malware distribution tactics. SpamTitan can be configured to block specific files attached to emails, preventing them from being delivered to end users. By implementing SpamTitan and blocking JavaScript Files, LNK files, and SVG files, organizations will be better protected against malware infections.
Since SVG, JavaScript, and LNK files are rarely sent in legitimate emails, blocking these attachments will not cause major disruption. Any individual or department that does use these files – IT or marketing for example – can be instructed to send the files via Dropbox or another file sharing platform.
Ransomware attacks on British schools have soared in recent weeks. The problem has become so serious that the British National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Center, also known as Action Fraud, has issued a new ransomware warning to British schools.
Ransomware has grown in popularity with cybercriminals over the past 2 years, with attacks on organizations around the world soaring in 2016. 2017 may only be a few weeks old, but ransomware attacks are continuing at the high levels seen in 2016. Security experts predict that 2017 will see even more cyberattacks on schools and other educational institutions. Ransomware the attack method of choice.
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts data on a compromised system. A wide range of file types are locked with powerful encryption and a ransom demand is issued. If payment is made, the attackers claim they will supply the key to unlock the encryption. Without the key – the sole copy is held by the attackers – data will remain locked forever.
Some forms of ransomware have been cracked and free decryptors made available, but they number in the few. The majority of ransomware variants have yet to be cracked. Recovery depends on payment of the ransom or the wiping of the attacked system and restoration of files from backups.
While a standard charge per encrypted device was the norm early last year, ransomware is now more sophisticated. The attackers are able to set their payment demand based on the types of files encrypted, the extent of the infection, and the perceived likelihood of the victim paying up. Ransomware attacks on British schools have seen ransom demands of an average of £8,000 issued.
Ransomware Attacks on British Schools are Targeted, Not Random
Many ransomware attacks are random – Spam emails are sent in the millions in the hope that some of them reach inboxes and are opened by employees. However, ransomware attacks on British schools have seen a different approach used. Recent attacks have been highly targeted.
Rather than send emails out en masse, the spate of recent ransomware attacks on British schools start with a phone call. In order to find their target, the attackers call the school and ask for the email address of the head teacher. The email address is required because sensitive information needs to be sent that should only be read by the head teacher. Information such as mental health assessment forms and teacher guidance forms.
An email is then crafted and sent to the head teacher; addressed to that individual by name. While there are many types of ransomware emails, a number of recent ransomware attacks on British schools involved an email that appears to have been sent by the Department of Education. Other cases have involved the impersonation of the Department of Work and Pensions and telecom providers.
In the text of the email the attacker explains that they have sent some information in an attached file which is important and needs to be read. The attached file, usually in compressed format such as .ZIP or .RAR, contains files that install ransomware if opened.
These ransomware downloaders may be JavaScript files, Word or Excel macros, or a host of other file types. In some cases, links are used instead of attachments. The links are masked so they appear to be official webpages; on the Department for Education website for example. In the case of links, they direct the recipient to a webpage containing an exploit kit or other form of file downloader. Just visiting that link could infect the user’s computer, mapped network drives, and portable storage devices.
How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware attacks on British schools can be highly sophisticated, although risk can be effectively mitigated.
Ensure all staff with computer access are made aware of the risk of ransomware attacks
Provide cybersecurity training to all staff, including how to identify ransomware and phishing emails
Never open attachments or visit links in emails sent from unknown senders
Implement a spam filter to capture and quarantine malicious spam emails
Use a web filtering solution to prevent staff members from visiting malicious links and from downloading ‘risky’ files
Ensure all software is kept up to date and patches are applied promptly
Keep all anti-virus and anti-malware solutions up to date, setting updates to occur automatically
Restrict the use of administrator accounts – Only use accounts with high levels of privileges for specific tasks
It is also essential to ensure that backups of all data are made on a daily basis and backup devices are disconnected after backups have been performed. Data should ideally be backed up to the cloud and on a physical backup device. In the event of an attack, data can then be recovered without paying the ransom.
University phishing scams targeting students have increased in recent months. Targeting some of the most well educated individuals may not appear to be the most rewarding strategy for scammers, but students are falling for these university phishing scams in their droves.
University Phishing Scams are Becoming Difficult to Identify
Awareness of phishing tactics has certainly improved thanks to educational programs, email warnings, and media coverage of phishing attacks, but in response, cybercriminals have got better at scamming. Today, phishing emails can be difficult to identify. In fact, in many cases, it is virtually impossible to tell a genuine email from a scam.
While students may be aware of the risks of clicking links in emails from unknown senders, the same cannot be said when the emails are sent from a contact. Emails from university IT departments, professors and colleagues are likely to be opened. Students’ guard is let down when the sender of the email is known.
When a convincing request is included, students often respond and have no idea that they have been scammed into revealing their login credentials or disclosing other sensitive information. All it takes is for one email account of a student to be compromised to start the process. Emails are then sent to that individual’s email address book. A number of those contacts respond. The same happens with their contacts and so on. Given that there are supposedly six degrees of separation between all individuals on the planet, it is easy to see how fast malware infections can spread and how multiple email accounts can be compromised rapidly.
University phishing scams have been increasing for some time, although the past few months have seen even more scams emails sent. Recently, the University of Connecticut sent warnings out to students following a spate of phishing scams. Some of those scams involved the impersonation of the University president. Students at the University of Georgia have also been targeted.
In the case of the latter, one student’s email account was compromised after she responded to a phishing email sent from UGA associate. The email did not arouse any suspicions because the contact was known. In the email the student was told that it was important for her to change her password. Failure to do so would result in her being locked out of her email account. She responded by clicking the link and changing her password. However, what she had done was disclose her old password and her new one to the attacker.
The attacker then used those credentials to set up a mail forwarder on the email account. The student only found out after querying why she was no longer receiving emails with the IT help desk. After investigating, the mail forwarder was discovered.
Other students were similarly targeted and their emails accounts were used to send out huge volumes of spam emails. It was only when spamming complaints were received about the compromised accounts that the problem was identified.
These university phishing scams are conducted for a wide range of nefarious purposes. Spamming and mail forwarders may cause limited harm, but that may not always be the case. Malware infections can result in serious financial harm to students and universities. Ransomware installations can occur after students respond to phishing campaigns, and those attacks can cost tens of thousands of dollars to resolve.
How to Protect Students and Networks from the Scammers
Since these phishing scams are now so hard to identify, training on email and cybersecurity best practices is no longer as effective as it once was. Technological solutions are therefore required to prevent emails from being delivered and to stop end users from being directed to malicious websites.
SpamTitan is an ideal spam filtering solution for universities. SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam emails and 100% of known malware. The solution is cost effective to install, easy to administer, and no additional hardware is required or any software updates necessary.
When used in conjunction with WebTitan – TitanHQ’s powerful web filtering solution –all attempts to visit malicious links and known phishing websites can be blocked.
Both solutions are available on a 30-day no obligation free trial. If you want to ensure your students and university networks are properly protected, contact the TitanHQ sales team today to register for the trials and discover the difference that each solution can make.
Sophisticated phishing emails and elaborate web-based scams are being used to target students at the University of Connecticut. The extent to which students have been targeted with these scams has prompted UConn Chief Information Officer and Provost for Information Technology to send a warning to all students to be on high alert.
A number of students at the university have received sophisticated phishing emails in recent months that appear to have been sent from University President Susan Herbst. Like many universities and other educational establishments, the email system is protected with a spam filter. The majority of spam and scam emails are filtered out, although some do make it through. If these emails are delivered to students, there is a high probability that they will be opened. After all, the messages do appear to have been sent from the University president.
The emails contain malicious attachments or links to websites that attempt to steal login information and the scam is sophisticated and highly convincing. Many students would be unaware that they have been scammed after disclosing their login credentials.
The same can be said of malware infections, which usually occur silently when a malicious website is visited. Criminals are attempting to install key-loggers that record all sensitive data entered on compromised computers.
These scams are intended to get students to disclose their bank account information, credit card data, or Social Security numbers and personal information. The attackers can then use this information for a wide range of nefarious purposes including identity theft.
Sophisticated Phishing Emails are the New Norm
Email scams of old were quite easy to identify. They often included many grammatical and spelling mistakes and included offers that sounded too good to be true. However, today, sophisticated phishing emails are the new norm and they can be very difficult to identify. Emails are sent from authority figures, are grammatically perfect, and the attackers use wide range of social engineering techniques to get victims to disclose sensitive data or take a particular action.
The scammers are also increasingly sending highly targeted emails. These ‘spear phishing’ emails use personal information unique to the recipient to add credibility. Information is often obtained from social media and professional networking sites.
One of the latest UConn email scams includes information about Blackboard Inc., the Mail Service used by UConn. The attachment has the title “Exclusive Important Announcement from President Susan Herbst.”
Warnings have been issued by email to all students alerting them to this scam and advising them to exercise caution when using email and surfing the Internet. Students have been told not to login on any websites that do not have a valid security certificate.
A Spam Filter and Web Filter in Tandem Offer Greater Protection Against Phishing Attacks
Users should always exercise caution when using email. Attachments from unknown senders should not be opened and links contained in emails from unfamiliar sources should not be visited. However, curiosity often gets the better of students and malicious links are often unwittingly visited.
For this reason, in addition to using an advanced spam filtering solution – such as SpamTitan – universities and other educational establishments should also employ a web filtering solution. The spam filter will block the vast majority of malicious messages. The web filter will ensure that malicious websites and infected webpages cannot be visited. In tandem, a spam filter and web filter will offer far greater protection against phishing attacks and malware/ransomware infections.
A W-2 Form phishing scam that has been extensively used to con businesses out of the tax information of their employees is now being used on educational institutions. School districts need to be on high alert as cybercriminals have them fixed in their cross-hairs.
Over the past few weeks, many school districts have fallen victim to the scammers and have disclosed the W-2 Form data of employees. Teachers, teaching assistants, and other members of school staff have had their Social Security numbers and earnings information sent to fraudsters. The data are used to file fraudulent tax returns in victims’ names.
At face value, the W-2 Form phishing scam is one of the simplest con-tricks used by cybercriminals. It involves sending an email to a member of the HR or payroll team asking for the W-2 Forms of all employees to be sent via email. Why would any employee send this highly sensitive data? Because the email appears to have been sent from individuals within the school district who have a genuine need for the information. This is why the W-2 Form phishing scam is so effective. In many cases, suspicions are not aroused for a number of days after the emails have been sent. By that time, fraudulent tax returns may have been filed in the names of all of the victims.
It is unknown how many school districts have been targeted to date with this W-2 Form phishing scam, although 10 school districts in the United States have announced that their employees have fallen for the scam this year and have emailed W-2 Form data to the attackers. In total, 23 organizations have announced that an employee has fallen for a W-2 Form phishing scam in 2017, and at least 145 organizations fell for similar scams last year.
Due to the number of attacks, the IRS issued a warning in early 2016 to alert all organizations to the threat. The increase in attacks in 2017 has prompted the IRS to issue a warning once again. While corporations are at risk, the IRS has issued a warning specifically mentioning school districts, as well as non-profits and tribal organizations.
The IRS warning explains how cybercriminals have started even earlier this year. While the W-2 Form phishing scam emerged last year, many attacks occurred relatively late in the tax season. Cybercriminals are attempting to get the data sooner this year. The sooner a fake tax return is filed, the greater the chance that a refund will be issued.
A variety of spoofing techniques are employed to make the email appear like it has come from the email account of an executive or other individual high up in the organization. In some cases, criminals have first compromised the email account of a board member, making the scam harder to identify.
This year has also seen a new twist to the scam with victims targeted twice. In addition to the W-2 Form scam, the victims are also subjected to a wire transfer scam. After W-2 Forms have been sent, a wire transfer request is made to the payroll department. Some organizations have been hit with both scams and have disclosed employees’ tax information and then made a wire transfer of several thousand dollars to the same attackers.
Protecting against these scams requires a combination of technology, training and policy/procedural updates. The first step for all organizations – including school districts – is to send an email to all HR and payroll staff warning them about these phishing scams. Staff must be made aware of the scam and told to be vigilant.
Policies and procedures should be updated requiring payroll and HR staff to authenticate any email request for W-2 Form data by telephone prior to sending the information.
An advanced spam filter – such as SpamTitan – can also greatly reduce the risk of W-2 Form scam emails being delivered to end users’ inboxes. Blocking suspicious emails will reduce reliance on training and user awareness of these scams. The spam filter will also be effective at blocking further scams and other malicious emails from being delivered.
Osiris ransomware is the latest variant of Locky. As with other versions of the ransomware, there is no free way of unlocking encrypted files if a viable backup of data does not exist.
Cybercriminals use a variety of techniques and attack vectors to spread malicious files such as ransomware and malware. Exploit kits are popular as they can be hidden on websites and used to silently probe visitors’ browsers for vulnerabilities in plugins such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and Oracle Java. Those vulnerabilities are leveraged to download malware. Malvertising – malicious web adverts – are often used to direct users to these malicious webpages; however, all too often, links to these websites are sent via spam email.
The rise in malware and ransomware attacks over the past few years has prompted many organizations to start providing security awareness training to staff members. Employees are instructed never to click on a link contained in an email unless they are sure that it is genuine.
However, even with security awareness training, a great many employees inadvertently infect their computers with malware or accidentally download ransomware. One of the biggest problems is not malicious links in spam email but malicious attachments. Cybercriminals have increased the use of malicious file attachments in the last year, especially to infect end users with ransomware.
One of the biggest ransomware threats in the past 12 months has been Locky. Locky has been spread via exploit kits in the past, although spam email is now primarily used to infect users.
Office Macros Used to Infect Computers with Osiris Ransomware
The gang behind Locky frequently updates the ransomware, as well as the methods used to fool end users into installing the malicious file-encryptor. The latest Locky variant – Osiris ransomware – encrypts files and adds the .osiris extension to encrypted files.
Locky is commonly spread via malicious macros in Word documents. Typically, the malicious Word documents claim to be invoices, purchase orders, or notifications of missed parcel deliveries.
However, a recent campaign used to distribute the Osiris ransomware variant switches from .DOC files to Excel spreadsheets (.XLS). Recipients of the emails are told the Excel spreadsheet is an invoice. Opening the attached Excel spreadsheet will not automatically result in an Osiris ransomware infection if macros have not been set to run automatically. The user will be presented with a blank spreadsheet and a prompt to enable macros to view the content of the file.
Clicking on ‘Enable Content’ will launch a VBA script that downloads a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file, which is automatically executed using the Windows file Rundll32.exe. That DLL file is used to download Osiris ransomware. Osiris ransomware encrypts a wide range of file types and deletes Windows Shadow Volume Copies, preventing the user from restoring the computer to the configuration before the ransomware was installed. The only option for recovery from an Osiris ransomware infection is to pay the ransom demand or to wipe the system and restore files from backups.
Protecting Networks From E-Mail-Based Ransomware and Malware Attacks
An advanced spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan can be used to block the vast majority of email-borne threats. SpamTitan performs a wide range of front line tests to rapidly identify spam email and prevent it from being delivered, including RBL, SPF, Greylisting and SMTP controls.
SpamTitan uses two enterprise-class anti-virus engines to scan for malicious attachments – Bitdefender and ClamAV – to maximize detection rates.
SpamTitan can also be configured to block specific files attachments commonly used by cybercriminals to infect end users: EXE files and JavaScript files for example. The contents of compressed files are also automatically scanned by SpamTitan.
Host-based tests are performed to examine mail headers, while the contents of messages are subjected to a Bayesian analysis to identify common spam signatures and spam-like content. Messages are also scanned for malicious links.
These extensive tests ensure SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam emails, preventing malicious messages from being delivered to end users. SpamTitan has also been independently tested and shown to have an exceptionally low false positive rate of just 0.03%.
If you want to keep your network protected from malicious spam emails and reduce reliance on employees’ spam detection abilities, contact the TitanHQ team today. SpamTitan is available on a 30-day free trial, allowing you to fully test the product and discover the difference SpamTitan makes at your organization before committing to a purchase.
Its tax season in the United States, which means the start of scamming season. W2 phishing scams and other tax-related email and telephone scams are rife at this time of year. Businesses need to be particularly careful. There have already been a number of victims of W2 phishing scams and the year has barely started.
2016 Saw a 400% Rise in Tax Season Phishing and Malware Incidents
Tax season in the United States runs from the start of January to April 15. It is the time of year when Americans calculate how much tax they need to pay from the previous financial year. It is also a busy time for cybercriminals. They will not be filing their own tax returns however. Instead they are concentrating on filing tax returns on behalf of their victims.
In order for tax refunds to be fraudulently filed, cybercriminals need information about their victims. Given the number of data breaches that have resulted in the theft of Social Security numbers in the past 12 months, 2017 could well be a record year for tax scams.
However, while past data breaches can provide cybercriminals with the information they need to file fraudulent tax returns, tax season usually sees a massive increase in phishing scams. The sole purpose of these scams is to get victims to reveal their Social Security numbers and the other personal information necessary to file tax returns.
Since the IRS started allowing Americans to e-file their tax returns, scammers had a new option for filing fraudulent tax returns. Phishing emails claiming to have been sent by the IRS request the recipients update their IRS e-file. A link is included in the emails for this purpose. Clicking on the link in the emails will not direct the recipient to the IRS website, but a spoofed version of the site. The information entered online is then used to e-file on behalf of the victims and the scammers pocket the tax refunds.
In 2016, the IRS reported a massive increase in phishing and malware incidents. These scams and malware infections increased by an incredible 400%. The massive rise in scams prompted the IRS to issue a warning to Americans about the scams, with the IRS confirming that it does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.
2017 is likely to be no different. Until April 15, tax-related scams are likely to be rife. All Americans should therefore be wary and must exercise caution.
Tax Season Sees a Massive Rise in W2 Phishing Scams
While consumers are at risk. Businesses in the United States are also extensively targeted at this time of year. The scammers impersonate CEOs, CFOs, and other individuals with authority and make requests for W2 data and other financial information about employees. The requests can be highly convincing and each year many employees fall for these types of scams. The scammers are well aware that some employees would be nervous about questioning a request that has been emailed from their SEO or CFO.
It is difficult to determine how many attempted W2 phishing scams took place last year, but in the first quarter of 2016, at least 41 U.S companies reported that they were the victims of successful W2 phishing scams. Employees were sent email requests to send W2 data by return and they responded. By doing so, employees’ tax information was sent directly to the scammers’ inboxes.
2017 is not yet a month old, yet already W2 phishing scams have been reported. The week, the Tipton County Schools District in western Tennessee reported that it had fallen victim to one of these W2 phishing scams. The attacker had posed as the director of the schools and had requested W2 tax data on all employees. W2 form data were then emailed to the attacker by an employee.
A similar email phishing scam was reported to have been used to attack 8 school districts in Missouri, according to a report by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In this case, only one of the eight school districts responded to the scam: An employee from the Odessa School District was fooled and send the tax details of the district’s employees to the attackers.
It is not only schools that are being targeted. A hospital in Campbell County, Wyoming was attacked this week. According to a Campbell County Health news release, a hospital executive was impersonated in this attack. A 66-year old hospital worker fell for the scam and emailed W-2 information about employees as requested.
Preventing successful W2 phishing scams requires a combination of technological solutions, employee training, and updates to policies and procedures. All employees with access to sensitive data must be advised of the risk and told to exercise caution. Policies should be introduced that require all email requests for employees’ tax information to be authenticated via telephone or other means. Organizations should also implement a robust spam filtering solution to prevent the scam emails from being delivered to employees’ inboxes.
However, if nothing is done to mitigate risk, 2017 is likely to be another record breaking year for the scammers.
You have no doubt heard of Locky and Cryptolocker, but what about Satan ransomware? Unfortunately, you may soon be introduced to this new ransomware variant. No matter where your organization is based, if you do not have a host of cybersecurity defenses to block ransomware attacks, this nasty file-encryptor may be installed on your network.
Satan Ransomware is being offered to any would-be hacker or cybercriminal free of charge via an affiliate model known as ransomware-as-a-service or RaaS. The idea behind RaaS is simple. Developers of ransomware can infect more computers and networks if they get an army of helpers to distribute their malicious software. Anyone willing to commit a little time to distributing the ransomware will receive a cut of any profits.
Ransomware authors commonly charge a nominal fee for individuals to participate in these RaaS schemes, in addition to taking a percentage of any ransomware payments that are generated. In the case of Satan ransomware, the developers offer RaaS totally free of charge. Anyone who wants to distribute the malicious software is free to do so. In exchange for their efforts they get to keep 70% of the ransom payments they generate. The remaining 30% goes to the ransomware authors. The gang behind the RaaS also offers higher percentages as infections increase as a reward for effort. All that is required to get started is to create a username and password. Access to the ransomware kit can then be gained.
What is alarming is how easy it is to participate in this RaaS scheme and custom-craft the malware. The gang behind the campaign has developed an affiliate console that allows the malware to be tweaked. The ransom amount can be easily set, as can the time frame for making payments and how much the ransom will increase if the payment deadline is exceeded.
Help is also offered with the distribution of the malware. Assistance is provided to make droppers that install the malware on victims’ systems. Help is offered to create malicious Word macros and CHM installers that can be used in spam email campaigns. Help is also offered to encrypt the ransomware to avoid detection. Even multi-language support is provided. Any would-be attacker can craft ransom demands in multiple languages via the RaaS affiliate console.
Satan ransomware performs a check to determine if it is running on a virtual machine. If it is, the ransomware will terminate. If not, it will run and will search for over 350 different file types. Those files will be locked with powerful encryption. File extensions are changed to. stn and the file names are scrambled to make it harder for victims to identify individual files. The ransomware will also wipe all free space on the hard drive before the ransom demand is dropped onto the desktop.
There is no decryptor for Satan ransomware. Recovery without paying the ransom will depend on organizations being able to restore files from backups. Since the ransomware also encrypts backup files, those backups will have to be in the cloud or on isolated devices.
RaaS is nothing new, but what is so worrying about Satan ransomware is how easy it has been made for affiliates. Next to no skill is required to run a ransomware campaign and that is likely to see many individuals take part in the RaaS program.
Take a look at the list of the worst passwords of 2016 and you would be forgiven for thinking you are looking at the worst password list for 2015. Or 2014 for that matter. Little appears to have changed year on year, even though the risk to network and data security from the use of weak passwords is considerable.
Every year, SplashData compiles a list of the worst 25 passwords of the year. 2017 is the sixth consecutive year when the company has produced its list. Given the number of largescale data breaches that occurred in 2016, it would be reasonable to assume that organizations would take a proactive step and introduce restrictions on the passwords that can be used to secure corporate networks, computers, and email accounts. Many still don’t. It is still possible for end users to use passwords with no capital letters (or no letters at all), no symbols, and consecutive number strings are still permitted.
Should a hacker attempt a brute force attack – attempting to gain access using an automated system that guesses potential password combinations – a weak password would allow access to be gained incredibly quickly.
If any of the passwords from the list of the worst passwords of 2016 were used, it would be like there was no password required at all. How quickly can a hacker crack one of these passwords? According to Random ize, most of the passcodes on the list of the worst passwords of 2016 could be guessed in under a second. BetterBuys is more pessimistic, claiming most could be guessed in about 0.25 milliseconds.
To compile its list, SplashData scraped data dumps that included passwords. 2016 saw a great deal of data published on darknet sites by cybercriminals that had succeeded in breaching company defenses. For its list, SplashData analyzed more than 5 million credentials, most of which came from data breaches in North America and Europe.
The most commonly used password in 2016 was 123456, as it was in 2015. Password was the second most common password in 2016. There was no change in the top two worst passwords even though cybersecurity awareness has increased. As we saw last year, even John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, allegedly used a variation of the word password to “secure” his accounts. That poor choice clearly demonstrated that the use of poor passwords offers very little protection against hackers.
The worst password of 2016 was used on an incredible 4% of user accounts, and almost as many individuals used password. SplashData says around 10% of individuals use a password that was on the list of the 25 worst passwords of 2016.
Some individuals have got clever, or so they think. They use a variation of ‘password’. However, password1 and passw0rd are barely any better. The small change would not delay a hacker by any noticeable degree. Hackers are well aware of the use of numbers to replace letters and other techniques to make passwords more secure, such as adding a digit to the end of a word. – Password1 for example.
SplashData’s List of the Worst Passwords of 2016
123456
password
12345
12345678
football
qwerty
1234567890
1234567
princess
1234
login
welcome
solo
abc123
admin
121212
flower
passw0rd
dragon
sunshine
master
hottie
loveme
zaq1zaq1
password1
If you were wondering how the list has changed year on year, take a look at last year’s list and you will see a number of similarities.
List of the Worst Passwords of 2015
123456
password
12345678
qwerty
12345
123456789
football
1234
1234567
baseball
welcome
1234567890
abc123
111111
1qaz2wsx
dragon
master
monkey
letmein
login
princess
qwertyuiop
solo
passw0rd
starwars
In order to make it harder for hackers, complex passwords should be chosen. Passwords should be at least 9 characters, contain numbers, letters (lower and upper case), and symbols. They should not be words, although pass phrases of 15 or more characters would be acceptable. Passwords should also be changed frequently. The use of a password manager is recommended to ensure that these complex passwords can be remembered.
A spate of Gmail phishing attacks has hit the headlines this week. While the phishing scam is not new – it was first identified around a year ago – cybercriminals have adopted the campaign once more. The phishing emails are used to obtain Gmail login credentials are highly convincing,. A number of different tactics are used to evade detection, some of which are likely to fool even the most security aware individuals.
The Gmail phishing attacks start with an email sent to a Gmail account. Security aware individuals would be wary about an email sent from an unknown source. However, these attacks involve emails sent from a contact in the target’s address book. The email addresses are not masked to make them look like they have come from a contact. The email is actually sent from a contact’s account that has already been compromised.
Email recipients are far more likely to open emails sent from their contacts. Many people do not perform any further checks if the sender is known to them. They assume that emails are genuine solely from the source.
However, that is not the only technique used to fool targets. The attackers also use information that has been taken from the contact’s sent and received messages and add this to the email. An screenshot of an attachment or image that has already been included in a previous email between the contact and the target is included in the message. Even if the target is slightly suspicious about receiving an email, these additional touches should allay concern.
The aim of the email is to get the target to click on the image screenshot. Doing so will direct them to a Gmail login page where the target is required to sign in again. While this is perhaps odd, the page that the user is directed to looks exactly as it should. The page exactly mirrors what the user would normally expect.
Checking the website address bar should reveal that the site is not genuine; however, in this case it does not. The address bar shows the site is secure – HTTPS – and the web address includes accounts.google.com. The only sign of the scam is the inclusion of ‘data.text/html’ before accounts.google.com in the address bar.
Entering in account credentials will send that information directly to the attackers. The response is lightning quick. Account credentials are immediately used to log into the victim’s account. Before the victim even suspects they have been scammed, the entire contents of their Gmail account could be stolen, including sent and received emails and the address book. Contacts will be subjected to these Gmail phishing attacks in the same fashion.
Google is aware of the scam and is currently developing mitigations to prevent these types of attacks from occurring. In the meantime, however, users of Gmail should be particularly wary. Many users just glance at the address bar and look for the HTTPS and the web address. Failure to very carefully check the address bar and protocol before entering login credentials can – and certainly will in this case – result in the user’s account being compromised. Gmail accounts contain a huge amount of personal information. Information that could be used in future spear phishing attacks, extortion attempts, and other scams on the target and their contacts.
A new ransomware variant – Spora ransomware – has been identified by Emisoft which features a new twist. Victims have a wide range of their files encrypted as with other forms of file-encrypting malware, but they are given the option of preventing future ransomware attacks if they pay up.
The attackers would not be able to prevent attacks performed by other gangs – with other ransomware variants – although if the attackers can be believed, victims would only be attacked with Spora once. That is, if they choose the more expensive option of ‘Spora immunity’ rather than just paying to unlock the encryption.
The bad news for the victims is that payment will be required to unlock the infection if a viable backup of data does not exist. At present, there is no decryptor for Spora.
Emisoft reports that the encryption used is particularly strong, and even if a decryptor was developed, it would only be effective against a single user due to the complex method of encryption used – a combination of AES and RSA keys using the Windows CryptoAPI.
In contrast to many ransomware variants that communicate with a command and control server, Spora ransomware does not receive any C&C instructions. This means that files can be encrypted even if the computer has no Internet connection.
The authors have also not set a fixed ransom amount, as this depend on the ‘value’ of the encrypted data. The ransom payment will be set based on who the user is and the files that have been encrypted. Before files are encrypted, a check is performed to see who has been infected. Encrypted files are sorted based on extension type and the information is combined into the .KEY file along with information about the user. The .key file must be supplied in the payment portal. An HTML file is also created on the desktop with details of how payment can be made.
The ransomware is being spread via spam email. Infection occurs when an email recipient opens the infected attachment. The attached file appears to be a genuine PDF invoice, although it includes a double file extension which masks the fact it is actually a .HTA file. Infection occurs via JScript and VBScript contained in the file.
Opening the file launches a Wordpad file which displays an error message saying the file is invalid. In the background, the ransomware will be encrypting data.
Emisoft reports that the ransomware is slick and appears highly professional. Typically, the first versions of ransomware invariably contain multiple flaws that allow decryptors to be developed. In this case, there appear to be none. Spora ransomware also tracks infections via different campaigns. The information will likely be used to determine the effectiveness of different campaigns and could be used to direct future attacks.
The slick design of the HTML ransom note and the payment portal show considerable work has gone into the creation of this new ransomware. Emisoft suggests that Spora ransomware has been developed specifically for the ransomware-as-a-service market.
Prevention remains the best defense. Since Spora ransomware is spread via spam email, blocking malicious messages is the best defense against infection, while recovery will only be possible by paying the ransom demand or restoring data from a backup.
A Barts Health malware attack forced the shutdown of hospital IT systems on Friday last week as the UK NHS Trust attempted to limit the damage caused and contain the infection.
Barts Health is the largest NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, operating six hospitals in the capital: Mile End Hospital, Newham University Hospital, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, The London Chest Hospital, The Royal London Hospital, and Whipps Cross University Hospital.
The Barts Health malware attack occurred on Friday 13, 2016. Given the number of ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations in recent months, rumors started to quickly circulate that this was another healthcare ransomware attack.
A statement was released on Friday claiming the Trust had experienced an ‘IT attack,’ and that as a precaution, a number of drives were taken offline to prevent the spread of the infection. The type of malware that had been installed was not known, although the NHS trust did say in its statement that it did not believe ransomware was involved.
Multiple drives were shut down following the discovery of the malware including those used by the pathology department, although patient data were unaffected and the NHS Trust’s Cerner Millennium patient administration system remained operational, as did the systems used by the radiology department.
Today, Barts Health reports that all of its systems are back online and the infection has been removed. Medical services for patients were not affected, although Barts Health said due to the need for requests to be processed manually, it may take a few days for the pathology department to deal with the backlog.
Barts Health also reiterated that at no point were patient medical records compromised. No mention has been made about how the malware was installed and the type of malware involved was not announced. However, the Barts Health malware attack involved a form of malware that had not previously been seen and was a ‘Trojan Malware.’
The Trust said “whilst it had the potential to do significant damage to computer network files, our measures to contain the virus were successful”.
Ransomware Attacks on UK Hospitals
In November last year, the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust was attacked with ransomware which resulted in IT systems at three hospitals being crippled. As a result of that attack, the NHS Trust was forced to cancel 2,800 operations and appointments while the infection was removed and systems restored. The majority of IT systems had to be taken offline, hence the major disruption to medical services.
While Locky and Samas have been used extensively in attacks on U.S. hospitals, the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust ransomware attack involved a ransomware variant known as Globe2 – A relativity new variant that was first identified in August 2016.
Globe ransomware has been spread primarily via spam email and malicious file attachments. Opening the file attachment triggers the downloading of the ransomware. As with other ransomware variants, the attachments appear to be files such as invoices or medical test results.
Malicious links are also used to spread ransomware infections. Clicking a link directs users to malicious websites where ransomware is automatically downloaded. Fortunately for organizations attacked with Globe ransomware, a decryptor has been developed by Emisoft, which is available for free download.
However, relatively few ransomware variants have been cracked. Recovery can also take time resulting in considerable disruption to business processes. Ensuring backups of all critical data are regularly made will ensure that files can be recovered without giving in to attackers’ demands.
Preventing malware and ransomware attacks requires multi-layered defenses. Since many infections occur as a result of infected email attachments and links, organizations should employ an advanced spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan. SpamTitan has been independently tested and shown to block 99.97% of spam email. SpamTitan will also block 100% of known malware.
A Los Angeles Valley College ransomware attack has resulted in file systems being taken out of action for seven days and considerable costs being incurred to resolve the infection.
Attackers succeeded in taking control of one of the college’s servers on December 30, 2016. When staff returned after the Christmas break they discovered the computer system to be out of action and essential files locked with powerful encryption.
The attackers had succeeded in locking a wide range of file types on network drives and computers. Unfortunately, the college was unable to recover the files from a backup. Administrators therefore faced a tough decision. To try to recover from the attack without paying the ransom and risk file loss or to give in to the attacker’s demands and pay for the keys to unlock the encryption.
Los Angeles Valley College Ransomware Attack Nets Criminal Gang $28,000
Due to the extent of the infection and the number of devices affected, the ransom payment was considerable. The attackers set the price at $28,000 for the decryption keys. The ransom demand was high but the college had little in the way of options.
The ransom note that was loaded onto the college’s X-drive said if the ransom was not paid within 7 days, the unique keys to unlock the encryption would be permanently deleted. That would likely have resulted in all of the locked files being permanently lost.
The college enlisted help from cybersecurity experts to determine the likelihood of files being recovered without paying the ransom. However, college administrators were advised to dig deep and pay the attackers for the key. While there is no guarantee that paying the ransom would result in viable keys being supplied, the college’s cybersecurity experts said there was a high probability of data recovery if the ransom was paid and a very low probability of data being recovered if the ransom demand was ignored. The likely cost of resolving the infection without paying the ransom was also estimated to be higher than attempting to remove the infection. The decision was therefore made to pay the attackers in Bitcoin as requested.
The attackers made good on their promise and supplied the keys to unlock the data. Now IT staff must apply those keys and remove the encryption on the server, network drives, and the many infected computers. Fortunately for the college, a cyber insurance policy will pay out and cover the cost of the ransom and resetting systems. However, there will be other costs that need to be covered, which will must be paid by the district.
Recovery from the Los Angeles Valley College ransomware attack will not be a quick and simple process, even though the decryption keys have been supplied by the attackers. The district’s Chief Information Officer Jorge Mata said “There are often a lot of steps where there’s no coming back, and if you pick the wrong path, there’s no return.” The recovery process therefore requires care and precision and cannot be rushed. The process could well take a number of weeks. The main priority is to recover the email system. Other systems and devices will then be methodically restored.
Los Angeles Valley College Ransomware Attack One of Many Such Attacks on Educational Institutions
The Los Angeles Valley College ransomware attack has hit the headlines due to the extent of the infection and high ransom demand, but it is one of many such attacks to have occurred over the past 12 months. Educational institutions have been heavily targeted by attackers due to the value of college and school data. Educational establishments cannot risk data loss and are therefore likely to pay the ransom to regain access to files.
In the past few months, other educational institutions in the United States that have been attacked with ransomware include M.I.T, University of California-Berkeley, and Harvard University as well as many K-12 schools throughout the country. Figures from Malwarebytes suggest that 9% of ransomware attacks targeted educational establishments.
How Can Educational Institutions Protect Against Ransomware Attacks?
There are a number of steps that educational institutions can take to reduce the risk of ransomware attacks and ensure that recovery is possible without having to resort to paying a ransom. The most important step to take is to ensure that all data is backed up regularly, including the email system. Backups should be stored on air-gapped devices, not on network drives. A separate backup should be stored in the cloud.
However, backups can fail and files can be corrupted. It is therefore important that protections are implemented to prevent ransomware from being delivered via the two most common attack vectors: Email and the Internet.
Email is commonly used to deliver ransomware or malicious code that downloads the file-encrypting software. Preventing these malicious emails from being delivered to staff and students’ inboxes is therefore essential. An advanced spam filter such as SpamTitan should therefore be installed. SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam emails and 100% of known malware.
To protect against web-borne attacks and prevent exploit kit activity and drive-by downloads, schools and colleges should use a web filter such as WebTitan. WebTitan uses a variety of methods to block access to malicious webpages where malware and ransomware is downloaded. WebTitan can also be configured to prevent malicious third-party adverts from being displayed. These adverts – called malvertising – are commonly used to infect end users by redirecting their browsers to websites containing exploit kits.
For further information on SpamTitan and WebTitan, to find out more about how both anti-ransomware solutions can prevent infection, and to register for a free 30-day trial of both products, contact TitanHQ today.
Apple malware infections are relatively rare, although Mac users should not get complacent. New threats do appear from time to time and cybercriminals do target Mac users. This month another malware variant has been discovered – a type of screen locker – that is linked to a tech support scam and its Mac users that are being targeted.
The attack starts when the user clicks on a malicious link in a spam email message, although links on social media sites could also be used to direct end users to the malicious website where the attack occurs. When the malicious website is visited, malicious code on the site causes a denial-of-service attack which freezes the device as its memory is consumed.
The method of locking the computer depends on the version of OS X installed on the device. On older OS X versions, a visit to the malicious website will trigger the creation of multiple emails until the Macs memory is overloaded. The emails have the subject “Warning: Virus Detected”. Since no memory is available, users will not be able to launch any other programs. The email messages are only created as drafts – they are not delivered – although this will be sufficient to freeze the device.
Additionally, a message is loaded into the draft folder containing a phone number to call to have the virus removed. While the message appears to have been sent by Apple, this is part of the scam. This is how the attackers make their money. Removal of the infection will require payment. The attackers appear to be after credit card numbers.
The second variant of the attack affects newer OS X versions. Rather than trigger draft emails, a similar style of attack occurs via iTunes. Multiple iTunes windows are launched, similarly using up the Macs memory. As with the first attack, a message also appears with a telephone number to call to remove the infection.
These tech support scams may not involve any downloaded malware, although responding to this type of scam and providing credit card details will result in multiple payments being taken until the card provider blocks the card or credit limits are reached.
Tech support scams such as this frequently target Windows users via Firefox, IE, Edge or Chrome browsers. Multiple browser windows are launched with a tech support number displayed. A call is required to unlock the infection.
These browser-locking attacks are relatively common. Only last month, Symantec identified a new campaign which locks the screen on Windows computers and displays a browser window detailing imagery from the police force of the country where the user is based – Most of the attacks occurred in the US (FBI) and Europe (Europol).
Users are advised that they have been caught engaging in illegal online activity, usually related to pornography or child abuse. A code must be obtained from the police department to unlock the screen. A phone number is supplied which the user must call to make payment. The attackers rely on victims’ fear and embarrassment to obtain payment.
Research conducted by the anti-phishing training company PhishMe has shown a worrying increase in phishing attacks in 2016 and has highlighted the importance of taking steps to reduce the risk of spear phishing attacks.
Unfortunately, cybercriminals are becoming much more adept at crafting highly convincing spear phishing campaigns. A wide range of social engineering techniques are used to fool employees into responding to the emails and the campaigns are becoming much harder to identify.
Unfortunately responding to these emails can result in email and network credentials being compromised, malware and ransomware being installed on corporate networks, and sensitive data being emailed to the attackers.
The study of phishing attacks in 2016 showed attacks increased by 55% year on year. PhishMe research shows that out of the successful data breaches in 2016, 90% started with a spear phishing email.
In 2016, business email compromise attacks rose by an incredible 1300%, while ransomware attacks increased 400%. Cybercriminals are attacking companies with a vigor never before seen and unfortunately many of those attacks have been successful.
The figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights – which tracks U.S. healthcare data breaches – show that 2016 was the worst ever year on record for healthcare data breaches. At least 323 breaches of more than 500 records occurred in 2016. Undoubtedly many more breaches have yet to be discovered.
Cybercriminals and hackers have employees firmly in their crosshairs. Unfortunately, employees are easy targets. A recent survey conducted by cybersecurity firm Avecto showed that 65% of employees are now wary about clicking on links emailed to them by strangers. Alarmingly, that means 35% are not.
The same survey showed that 68% of respondents have no concerns about clicking on links sent by their friends and colleagues. Given the extent to which email addresses and passwords have been compromised in the last year, this is incredibly worrying. 1 billion Yahoo accounts were breached and 117 million email addresses were compromised as a result of the LinkedIn breach. Gaining access to email accounts is not a problem for cybercriminals. If those accounts are used to send spear-phishing emails, the chance of links being clicked are very high. Unfortunately, all it takes is for one email account to be compromised for access to a network to be gained.
The risk of spear phishing attacks was clearly demonstrated in 2015 when the largest ever healthcare data breach was discovered. 78.8-million health plan members’ records were stolen from Anthem Inc. That breach occurred as a result of an employee of one of the insurer’s subsidiaries responding to a spear phishing email.
Anthem Inc., is the second largest health insurer in the United States and the company spends many tens of millions of highly complex cybersecurity defenses. Those multi-million dollar defenses were undone with a single email.
Organizations must take steps to reduce the risk of speak phishing attacks. Unfortunately, there is no single solution to eradicate risk. A multi-layered defense strategy is required.
An advanced anti-spam solution is essential to prevent the vast majority of spam and phishing emails from being delivered to end users. SpamTitan for example, blocks 99.97% of spam email and 100% of known malware.
Employees must be trained and their training must be tested with phishing exercises. Practice really does make perfect when it comes to identifying email scams. Endpoint defenses should also be employed, along with anti-virus and antimalware software.
The risk of spear phishing attacks will increase again in 2017. Doing nothing to improve cybersecurity defenses and combat the spear phishing risk could prove to be a very costly mistake.
Last month, L.a. County reported one of the largest phishing attacks in the United States. A single phishing campaign directed at Los Angeles County employees saw an incredible 108 individuals fall for the scam. Each employee that responded to the campaign inadvertently divulged their email credentials to the attacker. 108 email accounts were compromised as a result of the one phishing campaign.
While it is not known whether the individual behind the campaign successfully retrieved any data from L.A County email accounts, the compromised email accounts were a treasure trove of sensitive information. The email accounts contained the sensitive information of more than 750,000 individuals.
While the announcement of the phishing attack was only made in December, the actual incident occurred on May 13, 2016. In contrast to the phishing and spam email campaigns of old that contained numerous spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and bordered on the unbelievable, this campaign was expertly crafted. The attacker used realistic text and images, hence the reason why such a large number of employees fell for the scam.
Fortunately for L.A. County, the phishing attack was identified promptly – within 24 hours – therefore limiting the damage caused. A detailed forensic investigation revealed that 756,000 individuals had their sensitive information – including Social Security numbers and protected health information- exposed as a result of the attack.
There was further good news. The lengthy investigation confirmed the identity of the attacker, a Nigerian national – Austin Kelvin Onaghinor. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Bringing that individual to justice may be another matter. Extraditing foreign nationals to the United States can be a difficult and long winded process. However, L.A District Attorney Jackie Lacey has vowed to “aggressively to bring this criminal hacker and others to Los Angeles County, where they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Phishing attacks on this scale are unfortunately not that rare. Cybercriminals are becoming much better at crafting convincing emails and gaining access to corporate email accounts. All too often, the phishing attacks are not identified quickly, giving criminals plenty of time to exfiltrate data from compromised accounts. Many phishing campaigns are conducted to obtain network credentials and other information that can be used to gain a foothold in corporate networks. Once access is gained, all manner of nefarious activities take place.
This L.A. County phishing scam clearly demonstrates that employees are the weakest link in the security chain, which is why cybercriminals are committing more time and effort into phishing attacks. It is far easier to compromise an email account or gain access to a network if an employee provides their login credentials than attempting to find a chink in advanced cybersecurity defenses.
Protecting against phishing attacks requires an advanced spam filtering solution. Without such a solution in place, organizations have to rely on employees identifying emails as malicious. Something which is becoming much harder to do as cybercriminals perfect their social engineering techniques.
Blocking phishing emails and preventing them from being delivered to inboxes is the single-most effective solution to counter the phishing threat. Along with staff anti-phishing training and anti-phishing exercises, organizations can mount a defense against such attacks and avoid the not inconsiderable mitigation costs. Providing credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to 756,000 individuals is a sizeable cost for any organization to absorb.
2016 was a particularly bad year for data breaches. A large number of huge data breaches from years gone by were also discovered in 2016.
The largest breach of 2016 – by some distance – affected Yahoo. The credentials of more than 1 billion users were obtained by the gang behind the attack. A massive cyberattack on MySpace was discovered, with the attackers reportedly obtaining 427 million passwords. 171 million vk.com account details were stolen, including usernames, email addresses, and plaintext passwords. 2016 also saw the discovery of a massive cyberattack on the professional networking platform LinkedIn. The credentials of more than 117 million users were stolen in the attack. Then there was the 51-million iMesh account hack, and 43 million Last.fm accounts were stolen….to name but a few.
The data stolen in these attacks are now being sold on darknet marketplaces to cybercriminals and are being used to commit a multitude of fraud.
One of the biggest threats for businesses comes from business email compromise (BEC) scams. BEC scams involve an attacker impersonating a company executive or vendor and requesting payment of a missed invoice. The attacker sends an email to a member of the accounts team and requests payment of an invoice by wire transfer, usually for several thousand dollars. All too often, even larger transfers are made. Some companies have lost tens of millions of dollars to BEC fraudsters.
Since the email appears to have been sent from a trusted email account, transfer requests are often not questioned. Cybercriminals also spend a considerable amount of time researching their targets. If access to corporate email accounts is gained, the attackers are able to look at previous emails sent by the targets and copy their writing style.
They learn about how transfer requests are usually emailed, the terms used by each company and executive, how emails are addressed, and the amounts of the transfers that have been made. With this information an attacker can craft convincing emails that are unlikely to arouse suspicion.
The scale of the problem was highlighted earlier this year when the FBI released figures as part of a public awareness campaign in June. The FBI reported that $3.1 billion had been lost as a result of BEC scams. Just four months earlier, the losses were $2.3 billion, clearly showing that the threat was becoming more severe.
This year also saw a huge increase in W-2 scams in the United States. W-2 data is requested from HR departments in a similar manner to the BEC scams. Rather than trying to fool email recipients into making fraudulent transfers, the attackers request W-2 data on employees in order to allow them to file fraudulent tax returns in their names. The IRS issued a warning earlier this following a huge increase in W2 attacks on organizations in the United States.
Companies large and small were targeted, with major attacks conducted on Seagate, Snapchat, Central Concrete Supply Co. Inc, and Mainline Health. Between January and March 2016, 55 major – and successful – W-2 scams were reported to the IRS.
Attackers do not even need email account passwords to conduct these attacks. Email addresses of CEOs and executives can easily be spoofed to make them appear that they have been sent internally. The sheer number of stolen email addresses – and in many cases also passwords – makes the threat of BEC and W-2 attacks even greater. Security experts predict next year will be even tougher for businesses with even more cyberattacks than in 2016.
Improve Your Defenses Against Email-Borne Threats in 2017
Reducing the risk of these attacks requires multi-layered defenses. It is essential that all employees authorized to make corporate bank transfers receive training on email security and are alerted to the risk of BEC scams. Policies should be introduced that require bank transfer requests to be authorized by a supervisor and/or authenticated by phone prior to the transfer being made.
All employees should be instructed to use strong passwords and never to share work passwords anywhere else online. Many employees still use the same password for work as for personal accounts. However, if one online platform is breached, it can give the attackers access to all other platforms where the same password has been used – including corporate email accounts.
Organizations should also implement controls to block phishing and spear phishing attacks. Blocking phishing emails reduces reliance on the effectiveness of anti-phishing training for employees.
SpamTitan is a highly effective tool for blocking malicious spam emails, including phishing and spear phishing emails. SpamTitan uses a range of techniques to identify spam and scam emails including Bayesian analyses, greylisting and blacklists. SpamTitan incorporates robust anti-malware and anti-phishing protection, as well as outbound email scanning to block spam and scams from corporate email accounts. SpamTitan is regularly tested by independent experts and is shown to block 99.97% of spam email with a low false positive rate of just 0.03%.
2016 may have been a particularly bad year for data breaches and the outlook doesn’t look good for 2017, but by taking affirmative action and implementing better defenses against email-borne attacks, you could ensure that your company is not added to the 2017 list of data breach and scam statistics.
How do spam filters block spam email? Spammers are constantly adapting their strategies to bypass spam filters and deliver more malicious messages to corporate users’ inboxes, so how do antispam solutions keep pace and block these annoying and often malicious messages?
Many anti-spam services rely on blacklists to identify spammers’ email addresses and IP addresses. Once a spammer’s IP address has been identified, it is added to a global spam blacklist.
Antispam solutions check incoming messages against these blacklists. As soon as an IP address is blacklisted, any email sent from that IP address is automatically marked as spam and will be deleted or quarantined.
Spammers are aware that the lifespan of an email address for spamming is short. As anti-spam solutions have improved, the time delay between an email address being used for spamming and it being added to a global spam blacklist has reduced considerably. Whereas spammers used to be able to use an email address for weeks before it was identified by anti-spam solutions and blacklisted, now the lag has been reduced to days or even hours.
Spammers therefore have a very small window of opportunity to use email addresses and mail servers for spamming before they are detected and blacklisted.
Snowshoe and Hailstorm Spam Tactics to Get Messages to Inboxes
Spammers have attempted to increase the timespan for using email addresses using a number of methods, the most common being conducting snowshoe campaigns. This tactic involves sending out very low numbers of spam email messages from each IP address. If spam email volume is kept low, there is less chance of the IP address being recognized as used for spamming. To ensure sufficient numbers of messages are sent, spammers use millions of IP addresses. Even using this tactic will not allow the spammers to conduct their activities undetected for very long. Spammers therefore need to constantly add new IP addresses to their spamming networks to enable them to continue conducting their campaigns.
Snowshoe tactics are now widely used and the technique is highly effective, although a new tactic has recently been uncovered that is referred to as hailstorm spamming. Hailstorm spam campaigns similarly involve extremely large numbers of IP addresses, yet they are used very briefly and intensely. Rather than trying to stay under the radar, the spammers use those IP addresses to send huge volumes of messages very quickly.
Researchers at Cisco Talos recently analyzed both tactics and determined that the DNS query volume from a typical snowshoe campaign involved around 35 queries an hour. A hailstorm spam campaign involved around 75,000 queries an hour. The snowshoe campaign would continue at that rate for many hours, whereas the hailstorm spam campaign spiked and then fell to next to nothing. Hailstorm campaigns can therefore be used to deliver huge volumes of emails before the IP addresses are added to blacklists.
How do Spam Filters Block Spam Email?
How do spam filters block spam email when these tactics are used? Snowshoe and hailstorm spam campaigns are effective against antispam solutions that rely on blacklists to identify spammers. Only when an IP address is added to a blacklist will the spam email messages be blocked. Advanced spam solutions offer far greater protection. Blacklist are still used, although a number of other methods of spam detection are employed.
Conducting a Bayesian analysis on all incoming spam email messages greatly reduces the volume of spam email messages that are delivered to end users. A Bayesian analysis involves reading the contents of a message and assessing the words, phrases, headers, message paths, and CSS or HTML contained in the message. While scoring, messages based on content can be effective, Bayesian spam filters also learn as they go. They constantly compare spam emails to legitimate emails and build up the range of spam characteristics that are checked. As spammers change tactics, this is picked up by a Bayesian spam filter and spam messages continue to be filtered.
The use of greylisting is also important in a spam filter. There will be some messages that pass all of the checks and some that monumentally fail. Categorizing these messages as genuine or spam is therefore simple. However, there is a sizeable grey area – messages that could potentially be spam.
If all of these messages are blocked, many genuine emails would not be delivered. If they are all allowed, many spam messages would get through. This would result in poor catch rates or extremely high false positive rates. Greylisting helps in this regard. Suspect messages are returned to the sender’s mail server and a request is made for the message to be resent. Since spammers mail servers are typically constantly busy, these requests are either ignored or they are not dealt with promptly. The time it takes for the message to be resent is therefore a good indicator of whether the message is genuine.
SpamTitan – Keep Your Inboxes Spam Free
SpamTitan uses a range of methods to identify spam emails including blacklists, Bayesian analyses, and greylisting. These checks ensure that more spam emails are identified and blocked, even if IP addresses have yet to be added to spam blacklists. This makes SpamTitan highly effective, even when spammers use snowshoe and hailstorm spamming tactics. By using a range of methods to identify spam emails, spam detection rates are improved and false positives are reduced.
SpamTitan is independently tested every month to determine its effectiveness. SpamTItan is consistently verified as capable of blocking more than 99.97% of spam emails, with a false positive rate below 0.03%.
If you want to find out the difference that SpamTitan makes to the volume of spam messages that are delivered to your employees’ inboxes, why not take advantage of our free, no-obligation 30-day trial. You can implement the solution quickly, evaluate its effectiveness, and you will receive full customer and technical support for the duration of the trial.
All antispam solutions and spam filters check inbound messages for common spam signatures; however, it is also important to choose a solution that performs outbound email scanning. Outbound email scanning ensures spam emails, or emails containing malware, are not sent from an organization’s email accounts or domains.
Your employees would be unlikely to knowingly use their corporate email accounts to send spam emails, but malware infections can allow cybercriminals to gain access to email accounts and use them to send high volumes of spam email messages. Cybercriminals could also compromise email accounts and use an organization’s domain to send malware and ransomware to clients and customers.
Should this happen, it can have a seriously detrimental effect on an organization’s reputation and may result in corporate email accounts or an entire domain being blacklisted.
Blacklists are maintained by a number of organizations – spamhaus.org for example. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), web servers, and antispam solutions check these blacklists before allowing emails to be delivered to end users. If a particular IP address, email account, or domain is listed in one of the blacklist databases, emails sent from the domain, IP address or email account will not be delivered.
Blacklists are updated in real-time and contain many millions of blocked domains and email addresses that have been reported as having been used for unwanted activity such as the sending of spam emails. If emails are sent from a blacklisted account, domain, or IP address those emails will either be directed to a quarantine folder, deleted, or will simply be rejected.
If a business has its domain added to a spam blacklist important emails to clients and customers will not get through. This can prove costly, as real estate firm Keller Williams has recently discovered.
Blacklisted Domains and Email Accounts Can Prove Costly for Businesses
Over the past few days, email messages sent from the kw.com domain used by Keller Williams have been rejected by AOL. Yahoo has been blocking emails from the kw.com account for some time. The problem appears to be the addition of the kw.com domain to spam blacklists.
If a Keller Williams real estate agent needs to send an email to a customer who has an AOL or Yahoo account, it will not be delivered. Agents have therefore been forced to get customers to open Google email accounts in order to send online paperwork or documents requiring e-signatures.
The issue also affects online paperwork sent via the transaction management software program Ziplogix, with one Keller Williams agent also claiming Dotloop is also affected. Some agents at Keller Williams have reportedly had to send important paperwork for listings and sales via personal email accounts to ensure emails are delivered.
The AOL website explains that when domains have been flagged as being abusive, the server will be temporarily blocked until the spamming stops. Until a domain is removed from its blacklist, AOL account holders will be prevented from receiving emails from the blocked domain. Removing the domain from the blacklist can take up to a week.
Removing a domain from the 80+ commonly used spam blacklists can be a time-consuming task; furthermore, if spam emails are sent from the account again, the domain will simply be added to the blacklists once more.
Outbound Email Scanning Prevents the Blacklisting of an Organization’s Domain
Unlike many third-party antispam solutions, SpamTitan checks incoming email messages for spam signatures as well as performing outbound email scanning. If an email account has been compromised and is being used to send spam emails, if malware is sending spam, those messages will be blocked and will not be sent. Outbound email scanning is an important protection that will prevent an organization’s domain or email accounts from being used to send spam or malware.
Organizations can therefore avoid the embarrassment and reputation damage that results from being suspected as engaging in spamming or malware delivery. They can also rest assured that in addition to blocking 99.97% of inbound email spam, their domains and email accounts will not be added to spam blacklists.
‘Tis the season to be jolly, although ‘tis also the season to be infected with malware. The holiday season is an annual highlight for cybercriminals. Holiday season malware infections are to be expected as cybercriminals increase their efforts and try to infect as many users with malware as possible.
Malware is an ever-present threat, but the increase in online activity in the run up to the holiday season means easy pickings for cybercriminals. Consumers are starting to prepare for the holidays earlier, but not as early as the scammers. As consumers head online in their droves, scammers and other cybercriminals are lying in wait.
The advent of Black Friday and Cyber Monday – days where shoppers are offered amazing deals to prompt early Christmas purchases– see a frenzy of online activity. There are discounts aplenty and great deals to be had.
However, not all of those discounts are genuine. Many are scams that are used to phish for sensitive information or spread malware infections. As is the case every year, the holiday season sees a spike in malware infections, with the biggest spike over Thanksgiving weekend. This year has been no exception. Holiday season malware infections have increased significantly year on year.
Holiday Season Malware Infections Rise 118% Above Normal Levels
This year, over the first official shopping weekend of the holiday season, malware infections increased by 106% according to data compiled by the Enigma Software Group. On Cyber Monday, when even more great deals on online purchases are made available, malware infections were 118% higher than normal.
Those figures are only for Windows users. Add in smartphones and Apple devices and the figures would be higher still. The problem is also getting worse. Last year there was a spike of 84% over normal levels during the Thanksgiving weekend.
There have been a number of suggestions put forward as to why the figures are so high this year. One of the main reasons is simply due to the number of shoppers heading online. Each year sees more individuals choosing to go online shopping over Thanksgiving weekend. More online shoppers mean more opportunities to infect users with malware.
However, there are also more actors involved in online scams, malware-as-a-service and ransomware-as-a-service has also grown in popularity, and many cybercriminals have started up affiliate schemes to get more help spreading their malicious software. Individuals who succeed in infecting computers with ransomware are given a cut of the profits and there is no shortage of people willing to try the affiliate schemes to boost their own earnings.
Cybercriminals are also getting better at developing convincing scams and malicious email messages. The grammatical and spelling mistakes that were common in phishing emails in years gone by are largely gone. Now, almost perfect emails are sent and scammers are using a wide range of social engineering techniques to lure end users into clicking on malicious links or opening infected email attachments. Spoofed retail sites are also now commonplace – and extremely convincing.
The growth of social media has also helped boost cybercriminal activity. Malicious posts are being shared online offering discounts, special offers, and unmissable deals. However, all end users get is a malware download.
Avoiding a Bad Start to Holiday Season
To avoid becoming a victim of a scam or having to deal with a malware or ransomware infection, shoppers must be vigilant and exercise more caution. Offers that sound too good to be true usually are. Unsolicited emails should always be treated as suspicious and extra care should be taken when clicking on any link or visiting a retail site.
Businesses should also take extra precautions. A malware or ransomware infection can prove extremely costly to resolve. While warnings should be sent to end users about the risks of holiday season malware infections, technological solutions should also be in place to prevent malicious file downloads.
Antispam solutions are highly effective at blocking malicious messages such as phishing emails and emails containing malware. SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam messages, contains a powerful anti-phishing module, and blocks 100% of known malware.
Malicious links on social media sites and on third-party ad networks (malvertisting) are a very real risk. However, a web filter can be used to control access to social media sites, block malicious third-party adverts, and prevent end users from visiting websites known to contain malware.
If you want to keep your network free from malware this holiday season, if you have not already used these two solutions, now is the time. They will also help to keep your network malware free around the year. And with security experts predicting a massive increase in ransomware and malware attacks in 2017, there is no better time to start improving your defenses.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States has responded to the current ransomware epidemic by issuing ransomware advice for businesses and consumers. The FTC ransomware advice for businesses comes following a spate of high profile ransomware attacks on U.S businesses. The threat has prompted many U.S. government agencies to release ransomware advice for businesses in the past few months.
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts files on a victim’s computer and prevents them from being accessed. After a computer is infected, the attackers issue a ransom demand. In order to obtain the key to unlock the encryption the victim is required to pay a ransom. The ransom amount can be set by the attackers, although it is often around $500 per infected computer.
Ransomware has proved incredibly popular with cybercriminals as it offers a quick source of revenue. Since payment is made in an anonymous cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, money can be collected without fear of being caught.
The scale of the problem has been shown by numerous reports by security firms. This month, SentinelOne released the results of a global survey that showed 48% of organizations had experienced at least one ransomware attack in the past 12 months. The companies that had been attacked had been forced to deal with an average of 6 ransomware incidents in the past year.
A report released by Beazley’s Breach Response Unit suggests ransomware attacks between January and September were four times higher than in 2015, while a report from Kaspersky Lab suggests there has been an eightfold increase in attacks in the past year.
Ransomware is installed via a number of different attack vectors. Ransomware gangs use exploit kits on websites that probe for vulnerabilities in browsers. Those vulnerabilities are leveraged to download ransomware. Malvertising is also used. This is the use of third party ad networks to spread malware. Adverts are created containing malicious code which directs users to websites that silently download ransomware. Ransomware downloaders were also allegedly sent out via Facebook Messenger this week.
However, the biggest attack vector is email. Spam emails are sent containing attachments that have been infected with malicious macros, JavaScript files, and other ransomware downloaders. Links to malicious websites are also distributed via email. The attackers use a range of social engineering techniques to convince email recipients to click on malicious links or open infected attachments. Doing so results in ransomware being installed.
While not all ransomware attacks result in files being encrypted, attacks carry a significant cost. SentinelOne suggests that in the United States, organizations spend an average of 38 man-hours restoring files from backups after a ransomware attack. Additional investment in security is also required after an attack.
Since ransomware can spread laterally across a network, a single infection can result in many computers being infected. Ransom demands of the order of tens of thousands of dollars are not uncommon. The recent ransomware attack on the San Francisco ‘Muni’ rail system saw a ransom demand of $73,000 issued.
Ransomware Advice for Businesses
Unfortunately, antivirus software can be ineffective at preventing ransomware attacks. Businesses looking to defend against ransomware must therefore use a range of techniques. These include:
Ensuring all software is kept up to date and patches applied promptly
Setting antivirus and antimalware programs to update definitions automatically
Use endpoint security controls to prevent ransomware installations
Implement a robust spam filter to prevent malicious emails from being delivered to end users
Use a web filtering solution to prevent employees from visiting malicious websites and to monitor users’ online activities to identify high risk activities
Use intrusion prevention software
Train the workforce on security best practices and test knowledge to ensure training has been effective
Ensure all members of staff are aware who to contact and what to do if they believe they have inadvertently installed malicious software
To avoid paying a ransom, it is essential to ensure that regular backups of data are performed. Multiple backups should be made to minimize the risk of data loss. Those backups should be stored on an air-gapped device to avoid backup files also being encrypted. A ransomware response plan should also be developed to reduce disruption to the business in the event of an attack.
The email marketing service MailChimp employs security controls to ensure that its customers do not use the service to send spam; yet, this week malicious spam emails were sent from multiple accounts after a MailChimp account hack.
Customer accounts that were breached included Business News Australia, Brisbane’s The Sit Down Comedy Club, and gardening and home services provider Jim’ Group.
MailChimp accounts are valuable to spammers as subscribers to company newsletters are more likely to trust the emails than they would an email from an unknown sender. The hijacked accounts were used to send spam emails demanding an invoice be paid. Spammers often target businesses with malicious emails that spread malware. If malware such as a keylogger can be installed, the attackers can gain access to corporate email accounts or gain network access. Corporate bank account details can be stolen and fraudulent transfers made.
A fake invoice is a common ploy used to fool email recipients into opening an infected email attachment or clicking on a malicious link. A sense of urgency is often included to scare the recipient into opening the attachment. A threat of legal action if the outstanding invoice is not paid promptly is a common tactic.
In this case, a number of different variants were sent. Some emails contained an image with an embedded hyperlink which recipients could click to view the invoice. The spammers also included the logo of accounting software Quickbooks for extra authenticity.
Other emails included an attached zip file which contained a malicious JavaScript file. If run, the JavaScript downloaded malware onto the email recipient’s computer.
Initially, it appeared that MailChimp had experienced a security breach that resulted in spammers gaining access to accounts; although the company issued a statement saying that an investigation of the incident did not point to an internal breach.
MailChimp told Motherboard “MailChimp’s normal compliance processes identified and disabled a small number of individual accounts sending fake invoices. We have investigated the situation and have found no evidence that MailChimp has been breached. The affected accounts have been disabled, and fraudulent activity has stopped.”
How the MailChimp account hack was pulled off remains a mystery. The spammers may have managed to guess the passwords that were used to secure accounts or they could have obtained those passwords by other means. The practice of reusing passwords on multiple platforms could be to blame. If a breach of one platform occurs, cybercriminals can gain access to all other online services that use the same password.
In a recent post, computer security blogger Graham Cluley suggested some passwords were obtained by the password stealing Trojan Vawtrak. Cluley was contacted by an anonymous source who claimed to be in possession of two thousand MailChimp login credentials which were recorded by Vawtrak.
Details of the MailChimp account hack are unlikely to be released, although the incident shows how important it is for businesses to use two-factor authentication to secure their online accounts. The incident also shows how important it is to exercise caution and to treat any email attachment of hyperlink as potentially malicious, even if the sender of the email is known.
The biggest hacking threat to businesses comes not from unpatched software, but phishing. An incredibly simple, yet highly effective way that cybercriminals gain access to networks. Phishing can be used to bypass even the most sophisticated of cybersecurity defenses. Why go to the trouble of trying to find a weakness in highly sophisticated cybersecurity defenses when a simple email can get an employee to give the attacker their login credentials?
As Jeh Johnson, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, recently explained to attendees at the Financial Crimes and Cybersecurity Symposium in New York, phishing is one of the department’s biggest fears.
“The most devastating attacks by the most sophisticated attackers almost always begin with the simple act of spear-phishing,” says Johnson. It is no surprise that phishing is the biggest hacking threat to businesses. Phishing is alarmingly effective.
Even multi-million dollar cybersecurity defenses can be bypassed with a simple phishing email. The social engineering techniques used by cybercriminals often get the desired response.
Most of the largest hacks in the United States were possible not due to a security weakness, but because an employee responded to a phishing email. The cyberattacks on Ebay, Target, the Office of Personnel Management, JP Morgan, Anthem, and Sony Pictures all started with a simple phishing email.
Cybercriminals have also started using phishing emails to distribute ransomware. Malicious links are sent to company employees along with a request to click for free items, to take part in prize draws, or even to secure their computers to prevent cyberattacks.
Phishing has been around for as long as email and cybercriminals will not stop using phishing to gain access to networks, install malware, lock files with ransomware, and steal data. Phishing is likely to remain the biggest hacking threat to businesses. Organizations – and their employees – just need to get better at identifying and blocking phishing attempts.
One of the best defenses against phishing is to ensure that all staff members from the CEO down receive security awareness and anti-phishing training.
Training alone is insufficient. Staff can be told how to identify phishing attempts, but their ability to spot a phishing email must be put to the test. Anti-phishing skills need to be regularly tested. Dummy phishing emails should be sent to check to see who responds. Johnson says his department often sends fake phishing emails – free Redskins tickets for example – to test anti-phishing prowess. Anyone who responds is provided with further training.
Training is important in case a phishing email reaches an employee’s inbox, although it is far better to ensure phishing emails are not delivered. The best technological defense against phishing is the use of an anti-spam service. If phishing emails are not delivered to inboxes, staff members will not be able to respond and their anti-phishing skills will not be put to the test.
SpamTitan is a highly effective spam filtering solution for businesses that blocks 99.97% of spam email. Each month SpamTitan is independently tested for effectiveness. SpamTitan has now won 36 consecutive VB Bulletin antispam awards.
SpamTitan is a highly scalable anti-spam solution that’s suitable for businesses of all sizes. SpamTitan can be installed as a software solution, as a virtual appliance, or as a 100% cloud-based solution, the latter being ideal for managed service providers (MSPs).
Each solution is quick and easy to install, requires a low management overhead, and incorporates a host of features to block malware and prevent the delivery of phishing emails.
We are so confident that you will be impressed with SpamTitan that we offer the full product on a 100% free, 30-day trial. For further information contact TitanHQ today and take the first step toward banishing spam.
Malicious email spam volume has increased again. According to the latest figures from Kaspersky Lab, malicious email spam volume in Q3, 2016 reached a two-year high.
In Q3 alone, Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus products identified 73,066,751 malicious email attachments which represents a 37% increase from the previous quarter. Malicious spam email volume has not been at the level seen in Q3 since the start of 2014. Kaspersky Lab’s figures show that six out of ten emails (59.19%) are spam; a rise of around 2% from Q2, 2016. September was the worst month of the year to date, with 61.25% of emails classified as unsolicited spam.
Spam includes a wide range of unsolicited emails including advertising and marketing by genuine companies, although cybercriminals extensively use email to distribute malware such as banking Trojans, keyloggers, and ransomware. The use of the latter has increased considerably throughout the year. In Q3, the majority of malicious emails contained either ransomware or downloaders that are used to install ransomware on personal computers and business networks.
Ransomware is a form of malware that locks files on a computer with powerful encryption, preventing the victim from gaining access to their data. Many ransomware variants are capable of spreading laterally and can encrypt files on other networked computers. All it takes is for one individual in a company to open an infected email attachment or click on a malicious link in an email for ransomware to be downloaded.
Spammers often use major news stories to trick people into opening the messages. The release of the iPhone 7 in Q3 saw spammers take advantage. Spam campaigns attempted to convince people that they had won an iPhone 7. Others offered the latest iPhone at rock bottom prices or offered an iPhone 7 for free in exchange for agreeing to test the device. Regardless of the scam, the purpose of the emails is the same. To infect computers with malware.
There was an increase in malicious email spam volume from India in Q3. India is now the largest source of spam, accounting for 14.02% of spam email volume. Vietnam was second with 11.01%, with the United States in third place, accounting for 8.88% of spam emails sent in the quarter.
Phishing emails also increased considerably in Q3, 2016. Kaspersky Lab identified 37,515,531 phishing emails in the quarter; a 15% increase compared to the Q2.
Business email compromise (BEC) attacks and CEO fraud are on the rise. These scams involve impersonating a CEO or executive and convincing workers in the accounts department to make fraudulent bank transfers or email sensitive data such as employee tax information. Some employees have been fooled into revealing login credentials for corporate bank accounts. Cybercriminals use a range of social engineering techniques to fool end users into opening emails and revealing sensitive information to attackers.
Security awareness training is important to ensure all individuals – from the CEO down – are aware of email-borne threats; although all it takes is for one individual to be fooled by a malicious email for a network to be infected or a fraudulent bank transfer to be made.
The rise in malicious email spam volume in Q3, 2016 shows just how important it is to install an effective spam filter such as SpamTitan.
SpamTitan has been independently tested by VB Bulletin and shown to block 99.97% of spam emails. SpamTitan has also been verified as having a low false positive rate of just 0.03%. Dual antivirus engines (Bitdefender and ClamAV) make SpamTitan highly effective at identifying malicious emails and preventing them from being delivered to end users.
If your end users are still receiving spam emails you should consider switching antispam providers. To find out the difference that SpamTitan can make, contact the Sales Team today and register for a free, no obligation 30-day trial.
Thanksgiving weekend sees Americans head on line in the tens of millions to start online Christmas shopping in earnest and this year the holiday season scams have already started.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest online shopping days, but some retailers are kickstarting their promotions early this year and have already started offering Black Friday deals. Amazon.com for example launches its first Black Friday offers tomorrow, well ahead of the big day on 25th November.
It is no surprise that retailers are trying to get ahead. 41% of shoppers start their holiday shopping in October according to a recent National Retail Federation survey. 41% of shoppers wait until November. 82% of shoppers like to make an early start, and this year so are the scammers.
A popular tactic used by cybercriminals is typosquatting – the registration of fake domains that closely match the brand names of well-known websites. Phishers use this tactic to obtain login credentials and credit card numbers. In recent weeks, there has been an increase in typosquatting activity targeting banks and retailers.
A fake domain is registered that closely matches that of the targeted website. For instance, the Amaz0n.com domain could be purchased, with the ‘o’ replaced with a zero. Alternatively, two letters could be transposed to catch out careless typists. A website is then created on that domain that closely matches the targeted website. Branding is copied and the layout of the genuine site is replicated.
There is another way that scammers can take advantage of careless typists. Each country has its own unique top level domain. Websites in the United States have .com. Whereas, websites registered in the Middle Eastern country of Oman have the .om domain. Scammers have been buying up the .om domains and using them to catch out careless typists. In the rush to get a holiday season bargain, many users may not notice they have typed zappos.om instead of zappos.com.
Visitors to these scam websites enter their login credentials as normal, yet all they are doing is giving them to the attackers. The scammers don’t even need to spoof an entire website. When the login fails, the site can simply redirect the user to the genuine site. Users then login as normal and complete their purchases. However, the scammers will have their login credentials and will be able to do the same.
However, many websites now have additional security features to prevent the use of stolen login credentials. If a login attempt is made from an unrecognized IP address, this may trigger additional security features. The user may have to answer a security question for example.
Some scammers have got around this problem. When a user attempts to login on a scam site, a login session is automatically opened on the genuine website. The information entered on the scam site is then used by the attackers on the genuine site. When the unusual IP address triggers an additional security element, this is then mirrored on the scam site with the same question forwarded to the user. The question is answered, and an error message is generated saying the login was unsuccessful. The user is then redirected to the genuine site and repeats the process and gains access. Chances are they will be unaware their account details have been compromised. Hours later, the scammers will login to the genuine site using the same credentials.
Businesses must also exercise caution at this time of year and should take steps to reduce the risk of employees falling for holiday season scams. Employees keen to get the latest bargains will undoubtedly complete some of their purchases at work.
Email scams increase at this time of year and business email accounts can be flooded with scam emails. Offers of discounts and special deals are likely to flood inboxes again this year. Email holiday season scams may not be about stealing login credentials. Given the increase in malware and ransomware infections in 2016, this holiday season is likely to see many holiday season scams infect businesses this year. A careless employee looking for an online bargain could all too easily click a link that results in a malware download or ransomware infection.
As holiday season fast approaches, the scammers will be out in force. It is therefore important for both businesses and consumers to take extra care. If you want to find out how you can protect your business from malware and ransomware, contact the TitanHQ team today and find out more about our security solutions.
Spam email volume has reduced over the past couple of years following the takedown of key botnets – and individuals – behind some of the biggest spamming campaigns. It was starting to look like the super-spamming days of the early 2010s were a thing of the past. However, spam email volume has been increasing in recent months.
Necurs botnet activity has increased and last month the Tofsee botnet came back to life after years of dormancy. Both of these botnets had previously been used to send annoying but relatively harmless spam emails offering cheap pharmaceuticals and offers of beautiful Russian brides. However, the increase in activity is also coupled with the move to malicious email attachments containing malware and ransomware.
These and other botnets such as Helihos are also growing in size at alarming rates and spam email volume is soaring. Some reports suggest spam email volume has increased from around 200,000 spam emails per second to 450,000 emails per second over the past couple of months.
But what are these malicious email attachments, and how big is the risk?
97% of Malicious Spam Email Attachments Contain Locky Ransomware
Locky ransomware first appeared in February 2016. It has since become one of the biggest email threats. The ransomware is being sent in massive spam campaigns and increasingly sophisticated social engineering techniques are used to infect end users.
To put these email campaigns into some perspective, historically, the volume of spam email used to deliver malware, ransomware, and other email nasties stood at around 2% of the total spam email volume. By around April this year, two months after Locky first appeared on the scene, malicious spam emails containing the ransomware accounted for around 18% of total spam email volume.
The Quarterly Threat Report issued by ProofPoint earlier this month suggests the volume of spam email containing malicious attachments or links reached record levels in quarter 3, 2016. The vast majority of those emails contained Locky. According to the report, 97% of captured spam emails with malicious attachments were used to deliver Locky. That’s a 28% increase from Q2, and a 64% increase since Q1.
Since its release, Locky ransomware has been infecting users via Word documents containing malicious macros, JavaScript files, executable HTML files (HTA), and more recently Windows Script Files (WSF) hiding the Nemucod downloader. Now, another change has been detected. Earlier this month, researchers at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center discovered the actors behind Locky ransomware had made another change to the way they infect computers and made the switch to shortcut files (LNK) containing PowerShell commands.
This discovery coincided with a drop in detection and a relatively quiet period for the past two weeks. However, Locky is back with a vengeance. On Monday this week, three new campaigns were detected, one of which was massive and involved 14 million messages in around half a day. 6 million of those messages were sent in a single hour!
The risk from Locky is considerable. Locky is capable of deleting Windows Shadow Files and encrypting a wide range of data, including data on portable storage devices and network drives. Resolving an attack can prove extremely costly. It is therefore essential to improve defenses to prevent attacks.
Ransomware and Malware Protection
Larger botnets and the move to malicious messages means organizations need to be prepared and take steps to ensure that these messages are effectively blocked.
Protecting your organization from email attacks is critical. It is therefore essential to employ a robust enterprise spam filtering solution. SpamTitan blocks 99.7% of spam email, preventing malicious email attachments and links from being delivered to your end users. This reduces reliance on training programs to educate end users on email threats.
Preventing ransomware infections requires a multi-layered approach. There is no silver bullet that will offer total protection against ransomware infections, but there are security products that can greatly reduce risk.
Protecting against exploit kits and malvertising requires a web filtering solution. By blocking websites known to contain malware or exploit kits, and carefully controlling the website content that can be accessed by employees, organizations can effectively protect against web-borne infections. WebTitan offers that protection and can be used to block malicious websites and reduce the risk from infections via malvertising.
Along with intrusion detection systems, firewalls, antivirus and anti-malware solutions, it is possible to defend against ransomware and malware attacks and keep your data secured.
In July, news started to break about a massive Yahoo Inc data breach. It has taken some time, but the Yahoo Inc data breach has now been confirmed. And it was huge.
The Yahoo Inc data breach beats the massive cyberattack on Heartland Payment Systems in 2009 (130 million records), the LinkedIn cyberattack discovered this summer (117 million records), and the 2011 Sony data breach (100 million records). In fact, the Yahoo Inc data breach is the largest ever reported. More records were stolen in the cyberattack than those three breaches combined. More than 500 million accounts were compromised, according to Yahoo.
Yahoo Inc Data Breach Worse than Initially Thought
The Yahoo Inc data breach came to light when a hacker added a listing to the Darknet marketplace, theRealDeal. The credentials of 280 million account holders were offered for sale by a hacker called ‘Peace’. To anyone who follows Internet security news, the name of the hacker selling the data should be familiar. Peace recently listed the data from the LinkedIn hack for sale.
The 280 million Yahoo records were listed for a paltry $1,800. That payment would buy a cybercriminal names, usernames, easily crackable passwords, backup email addresses, and dates of birth. While the data were listed for sale 2 months ago, Yahoo has only just announced the breach.
After being alerted to the listing, Yahoo initiated an internal investigation. The investigation allegedly did not uncover any evidence to suggest that the claims made by “Peace” were genuine. However, the internal investigation did reveal that someone else had hacked Yahoo’s systems. Yahoo claims the hack was performed by a state-sponsored hacker.
Yahoo issued a statement saying “The investigation has found no evidence that the state-sponsored actor is currently in Yahoo’s network.” While that is undoubtedly good news, the bad news is that access is no longer required because user’s data have already been stolen.
The stolen data include names, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, security questions and answers, and hashed passwords. According to Yahoo, users’ bank account information and payment card details do not appear to have been stolen. Those credentials were stored in a separate system.
What is most concerning about the Yahoo Inc data breach is not the fact that its systems were compromised, but how it has taken so long for Yahoo to discover the cyberattack. The breach did not occur over the summer. The hack took place in 2014.
The results of the Yahoo Inc data breach investigation will have come as a nasty shock to Verizon. The company agreed to buy Yahoo’s core web business, including Yahoo email, in the summer for $4.8bn. It is possible that Verizon may now be having second thoughts about that deal. Whether the hack will have an impact on the purchase remains to be seen, but for Yahoo the timing could not be much worse.
Yahoo Account Holders Advised to Change Passwords and Security Q&As
Yahoo account holders are unlikely to be concerned about any potential sale of their email accounts to Verizon. They will however be concerned about the sale of their credentials to cybercriminal gangs. Even if the data that were listed for sale by Peace are not genuine, someone somewhere does have their data. Most likely, their data are in the hands of multiple criminals. Those data can – and will – be used in a variety of malicious ways.
Yahoo has now placed a notice on its website alerting users to the breach of their data. Yahoo has also sent out emails to affected users urging them to login to their accounts and change their passwords and security questions. The old security questions and answers have now been invalidated and Yahoo has told users to check their accounts for any suspicious activity, albeit out of “an abundance of caution”.
Fortunately for account holders, the majority of passwords were encrypted with bcrypt – a relatively secure form of encryption. However, that does not mean that the passwords cannot be cracked nor that email account holders are not at risk as a result of the Yahoo Inc data breach.
Yahoo Users at Risk of Phishing Attacks
Cybercriminals may not be able to crack the passwords and gain access to user accounts, but they have all the data they need to conduct phishing campaigns.
Yahoo has already emailed users alerting them to the breach, but the emails contained links that can be used to change passwords and security questions. Any cybercriminal in possession of the stolen data is likely to copy the official emails sent by Yahoo. However, instead of links to Yahoo’s website, the emails will contain links to phishing sites.
Those sites are likely to look exactly the same as the official Yahoo site. However, any user entering a new password or security question, would simply be disclosing that information to the attacker. Emails are also likely to be sent that direct users to websites containing exploit kits. Clicking the links will result in malware and ransomware downloads.
If the criminals behind the attack – or those in possession of the data – do manage to crack the passwords, it is not only Yahoo email accounts that could be compromised. Any individual who has used the same password on other websites faces a high risk of other accounts being compromised. Bank accounts, social media accounts, other email accounts, E-bay and Amazon.com accounts could all be at risk.
The data could also be used for social engineering scams, via email or telephone. Criminals will be looking to obtain the extra data they need to commit identity theft and other types of fraud.
How to Minimize Risk and Protect Yourself
Never click on any links contained in emails. Even if an email looks official and contains a link to help.yahoo.com or login.yahoo.com, do not click on the links. Instead, login to your account in the usual way by entering the web address directly into your browser and change your password and security questions.
Use a strong password containing letters (capitals, and lower case), numbers, and special characters.
If you have used the same password for multiple websites, change those passwords immediately. Each website requires a different password. Use a password manager – either a free or paid service – to remember all your passwords.
Use Yahoo Account Key, which will eliminate the need for a password altogether
Never respond to any email request for personal information
Never open any attachments sent via email unless you are certain of their genuineness
In response to the massive rise in ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has developed new HIPAA guidance on ransomware for covered entities.
The guidance covers best practices that can be adopted to prevent cybercriminals from installing ransomware, along with helpful advice on how to prepare for ransomware attacks and how to respond when critical files are encrypted by malicious software. Importantly, the new HHS guidance on ransomware also confirms how these security breaches are classified under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Many healthcare security professionals feel that HIPAA guidance on ransomware has been long overdue due to the uncertainty about maintaining HIPAA compliance following a ransomware attack. .
HIPAA Guidance on Ransomware Clarifies Attacks ARE Reportable Data Breaches
In the new HIPAA guidance on ransomware, OCR has clarified the reporting requirements for ransomware attacks under HIPAA. Over the past few months, as ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations have soared, there has been much confusion over whether these attacks are classed as security incidents under HIPAA Rules.
It has been argued that since ransomware blindly encrypts files and does not usually involve the attackers actually gaining access to data, the incidents should not be reportable to the HHS. Also, it has been argued that there is no need to issue breach notification letters to patients whose data are temporarily encrypted.
The OCR has now confirmed that ransomware attacks are reportable and require a full breach response, including the mailing of breach notification letters to affected patients and health plan members.
A ransomware attack is considered to be a data breach unless the covered entity can demonstrate that there was only a “low probability that PHI has been compromised.” The OCR considers a breach to have occurred if “unauthorized individuals have taken possession or control of the information.”
How HIPAA Covered Entities Must Respond to Ransomware Attacks
Any HIPAA covered entity that experiences a ransomware attack must orchestrate a full breach response and proceed as they would for a malware attack or if a hacker gained access to PHI.
An accurate and thorough risk assessment must be conducted to determine whether there is any risk to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI). HIPAA requires the infection to be contained and data must be restored to allow normal operations to continue. Security measures must be implemented to mitigate risks and prevent future attacks.
The Office for Civil Rights must be notified of the breach within 60 days of the discovery of the attack if the breach impacts 500 or more patients, or at the end of the year in the case of a smaller breach of patient records. Breach notification letters must also be mailed to patients within 60 days, in accordance with the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. A breach notice must also be submitted to the media if the breach impacts 500 or more individuals.
Preparing for a Ransomware Attack
The new HIPAA guidance on ransomware explains that organizations must be prepared to deal with ransomware attacks.
Healthcare organizations should implement cybersecurity protection measures to prevent ransomware attacks, such as installing a robust spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan. Spam filters can prevent the majority of malicious emails from being delivered to end users. Staff members should also be trained on the risk of ransomware and advised how to identify phishing emails and malicious websites.
A risk analysis should be conducted to identify potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers to install ransomware. Any vulnerabilities that could increase the risk of a ransomware attack being successful should be addressed in a timely fashion.
An emergency operation plan must also be developed that can be immediately put in place upon discovery of a ransomware attack. The new HIPAA guidance on ransomware also states that emergency response plans should be regularly tested to ensure that they are effective.
Ransomware Attacks on Healthcare Organizations Soar
This year has seen an extraordinary number of ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations. In February, ransomware was installed on computers at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California and a ransom demand of $17,000 was issued. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center felt the best course of action to minimize damage was to pay the ransom and obtain the decryption keys to unlock data. On receipt of the funds, the attackers made good on their promise and supplied the keys to unlock the encryption.
However, some organizations have discovered that simply paying a ransom demand does not spell the end of the problem. There have been cases – notably Kansas Heart Hospital – where a ransom has been paid, only for a second ransom demand to be issued. Other companies have paid and not been supplied with working keys. Paying a ransom is no guarantee that data can be decrypted.
The FBI advises against paying ransom demands. Not only is there no guarantee that the attackers will supply working keys, but payment of ransoms only encourages the attackers to continue with their ransomware campaigns. Only by preparing for ransomware attacks can organizations ensure that in the event of ransomware being installed, they will be able to recover their files quickly without giving in to attackers’ demands.
The Ransomware Threat Should Not Be Ignored
The threat to healthcare organizations is severe. Research conducted by anti-phishing company PhishMe showed that in Q1, 2016, 93% of phishing emails contained ransomware. Figures from Symantec Security Response show that on average, 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred every day since January 1, 2016. A report from security firm Solutionary, shows that in 2016, 88% of ransomware detections were by healthcare organizations.
So far this year, in addition to the attack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, ransomware attacks have been reported by MedStar Health and DeKalb Health, while Prime Healthcare reported that three of its hospitals – Desert Valley Hospital, Chino Valley Medical Center and Alvarado Hospital Medical Center – were attacked with ransomware. Methodist Hospital in Kentucky, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Yuba Sutter Medical Clinic in California have also reported ransomware attacks this year, to name but a few.
It may not be possible to prevent ransomware attacks, but if healthcare organizations invest in better security protections, the majority of attacks can be prevented. Provided that adequate preparations are made for ransomware attacks, in the event that the malicious software is installed, damage can be limited.
The HIPAA guidance on ransomware can be downloaded from the HHS website.
Knowing how to avoid email server blacklisting is vitally important for any organization that relies on email as a channel of communication. The consequences of your email server being blacklisted can be costly, inconvenient, and potentially damaging to your organization´s credibility.
To best understand what email server blacklisting might mean to your organization, it is ideal to have a little knowledge about how email server filters work. Consequently we have divided this post into three sections explaining a little about email server filters, what may cause your email server to be blacklisted, and how to avoid email server blacklisting.
A Little about Email Server Filters
Email server filters do not actually filter your incoming emails at server level. They protect your organization from spam emails and other email-borne threats from the cloud or as a virtual appliance installed between your firewall and your email server. The distinction between the two types of filter is that virtual appliances can be more appropriate for some larger organizations.
Regardless of how they are deployed, email filters effectively work in the same way – using fast front-end tests to detect and reject the majority of spam emails before a deeper analysis is conducted of the email that remains. One of these front-end tests is a comparison of each email against a list of known sources of spam. This list is known as the Realtime Block List or RBL.
If your organization´s IP address appears on this list, all of your emails will be rejected by most email filters until the IP address is removed from the list – something that can take anything from 24 hours to six months to resolve completely. During this time you will have to ask your customers and other contacts to add your email address to a safe list or “whitelist”.
Why Was My Email Server Blacklisted?
There are several reasons why an email address (or IP address) can be blacklisted, and it is important to find out the exact reason(s) before trying to get your organization´s IP address removed from the Realtime Block List. If you fail to identify the cause, and fail to take steps to avoid email server blacklisting in the future, it can be much tougher to get un-blacklisted second time around.
Blacklisting typically occurs for one of several reasons:
Your system has been infected with a spambot that has created multiple email accounts within your organization´s domain and is using those accounts to send out spam email.
Someone in your organization may have revealed their login credentials and a spammer is using that information to send spam emails from the end-user´s email account.
Emails sent innocently from one or more end-user accounts have had a high proportion of spam-related keywords, or have had infected files attached to them.
The last scenario is entirely possible if an end-user has prepared a presentation or spreadsheet on an infected home computer and bought the infected file into the workplace on a flash drive. Most email filters have antivirus software for identifying malware in attachments. If the infected attachment is sent to multiple recipients – and identified by multiple email filters – your organization´s IP address will quickly be blacklisted.
How to Avoid Email Server Blacklisting
Ideally, organizations should be able to avoid email server blacklisting by having robust antivirus protection and educating their end-users about online security. There should also be an email usage policy in place that would avoid email server blacklisting due to inappropriate content or unsafe attachments – even when these events occur inadvertently.
Unfortunately end-users are the weakest link in the security chain, and it only takes one end-user to click on a malicious URL or reveal their login credentials for an organization´s IP address to be blacklisted. In fact, if blacklisting is the worse consequence of a security breach, your organization has got off lightly and should consider itself lucky that the consequences were not far more serious.
Consequently, the best way how to avoid email server blacklisting is with an email filter that has malicious URL blocking to prevent end-users visiting malware-infested websites, with phishing protection to reject emails directing an end-user to fake website, and outbound scanning to identify potential spam and infections contained in – or attached to – outgoing emails.
Avoid Email Server Blacklisting with SpamTitan
Not all email filtering solutions have mechanisms to avoid email server blacklisting. However, SpamTitan has taken these factors into account in the design of SpamTitan Cloud and SpamTitan Gateway. Both of our solutions for email filtering use “URIBL” and “SURBL” protocols to compare links contained within inbound emails and their attachments against a global blacklist of known malicious and phishing sites.
The same protocols – along with several other mechanisms – are used in the scanning of outbound mail to ensure it is clear of viruses and could not be interpreted as having spammy content. Outbound scanning would also identify spam emails originating from a spambot or a compromised email account in order to prevent it from being sent and avoid email server blacklisting.
Naturally, you do not want your end-users to be under the impression that their emails have been sent when they are caught by the outbound filter. So SpamTitan Cloud and SpamTitan Gateway have comprehensive reporting features that advise of any problems in order that the problems can be rectified quickly and effectively – certainly more quickly than trying to get your organization´s IP address removed from a Realtime Block List.
The use of Word macros and malicious JavaScript to deliver malware is nothing new; however, Microsoft has recently discovered that malicious actors are using malicious OLE embedded scripts to deliver a different payload. The discovery had prompted the software giant to issue a warning to Windows users to alert them to the risk.
Attackers are using the MS Office object linking and embedding (OLE) function to insert malicious scripts into spam emails. Social engineering techniques are also used to encourage users to double click on the malicious OLE embedded scripts.
The spam email messages used for these campaigns are simplistic, but effective. They appear to contain an invoice or receipt in the form of an attached Word document. However, the document contains a malicious JS script called Trojan:JS/Certor.A. Running the script will result in the users’ proxy settings being changed which will allow the attackers to steal authentication credentials and other sensitive data.
Opening the attached Word document will not automatically result in a user’s computer being compromised. The attached documents contain malicious OLE embedded scripts which are masked by text or icons. Typically, these embedded objects contain text asking the user to double click to view the invoice or receipt.
If the user double clicks as requested, they will receive a security warning on screen asking for confirmation that they want to open the file. The file will be identified as a Jscript Script file, but it will have an innocuous name. The user may not realize that the file is malicious. Although the names of the file are different for each campaign, they typically include terms such as PayPal, invoice, or receipt.
Allowing the file to be opened will see a range of malicious functions executed. Registry keys related to browser proxy settings will be modified, and a number of components will be dropped and executed. The malware even carries its own certificate.
The malware can be used to redirect users to malicious websites containing exploit kits, phishing campaigns, or ads. However, the malware will also enable the attackers to monitor HTTPS content and traffic and steal sensitive data such as login credentials entered on secure websites. The end user will be unaware that their computer has been compromised and that their actions online are being monitored.
To avoid infection, users have been told not to open attached files that are sent from unknown senders. Microsoft also says that this advice is all too often ignored by end users. For large businesses with many employees, preventing all users from running malicious OLE embedded scripts is a problem. There is always one employee that ignores security best practices. Unfortunately, all it takes for a network to be compromised is for one employee to run a malicious script.
The best step to take to ensure this doesn’t happen is to use a powerful spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan. SpamTitan stops 99.97% of spam emails from being delivered to end users’ inboxes.
Additionally, to prevent malicious OLE embedded scripts from being run, Microsoft offers the following advice:
“For added defense-in-depth, you can reduce the risk from this threat by following [Microsoft] guidance to adjust the registry settings to help prevent OLE Embedded Objects executing altogether or running without your explicit permission.”
Users of Apple devices have been warned about a new fake invoice email scam that attempts to get them to provide attackers with their bank details.
Another Email Scam Targets Apple Device Users
Criminals are sending spam emails in the millions in the hope that they will be received by owners of Apple devices. The spam emails contain a bogus invoice which indicates the user’s iTunes account has been used to download a number of videos, games, singles, and albums.
The fake invoice includes Apple logos and details of the amounts charged for each purchase. The email is intended to scare iTunes account holders into thinking their account has been compromised and used to make fraudulent purchases.
At the bottom of the invoice is a link for users to click if they did not authorize the purchases. The email recipient is told that they have 14 days to query purchases and receive refunds. However, clicking the “manage my refunds” link will not take the user to the Apple App Store website, but to a spoof site where they are asked to enter in their bank account information. The attackers claim that a refund will be given; however, divulging bank account details will enable the attackers to make fraudulent charges to the users’ accounts.
Both Apple and the FBI are investigating the latest fake invoice email scam. While Apple has not released a statement about this fake invoice email scam, after previous email spam campaigns Apple has told customers that they would not be asked to reveal sensitive information such as bank account details, passwords, and credit card numbers in emails.
When bank account information is required, such as to set up an iTunes account, the web address will be a subdomain of apple.com: store.apple.com for example. Apple advises customer never to reveal their sensitive information on any non-Apple website.
Fake Invoice Email Scam Targets Netflix Users
Criminals often spoof popular websites and attempt to phish for sensitive information such as credit card numbers and bank account details. Netflix it another popular target for scammers due to the number of subscribers to the service. A similar fake invoice email scam is also being used to fool Netflix account holders into disclosing their bank account information.
The spam emails contain an invoice for a subscription to Netflix claiming the user’s account will be charged to renew their subscription. The funds will be automatically taken from users’ accounts unless action is taken to change their auto-renew settings.
As with the Apple scam, a link is provided on the invoice which allows the email recipient to manage their subscription settings. The email appears to have been sent from Netflix, but clicking the link in the email will similarly take the user to a scam site. They are then taken through a series of steps to manage their subscription, which involves confirming their bank account details.
How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Email Scams
These fake invoice email scam are designed to catch out the unwary and scare people into revealing sensitive information. However, by adopting some email security best practices it is easy to avoid scams such as these.
If you are sent an invoice in an email that claims to be from a web service, never click on the links in the email, no matter how realistic the email appears to be. Instead visit the official website and check account details or account charges directly on that website.
Cybercriminals often include links to spoofed websites in an attempt to obtain sensitive information, although the links can also direct the email recipient to a website hosting an exploit kit. Exploit kits probe for vulnerabilities in browsers and plugins that can be exploited to automatically download malware.
It is safest to assume that all attachments sent via email could be malicious. Never open an email attachment contained in an email unless you are 100% sure that it is genuine. Cybercriminals use email attachments to transmit malware and ransomware. Opening an attachment can potentially result in a malware infection.
Small business owners should use software solutions to prevent the downloading of malware. While anti-virus and anti-malware software can prevent malware from being installed, cybercriminals are developing highly sophisticated malware which is not detected by anti-virus software. By installing a spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan, small businesses can prevent these malicious emails from being delivered to end users’ inboxes. This reduces reliance of employees’ ability to identify phishing and scam emails.
A highly sophisticated PayPal email scam has been uncovered that is being used to deliver banking malware. Rather than promise the email recipient a sum of money or the opportunity to claim an inheritance from a long lost relative, this PayPal email scam claims a payment has been made to the victims account and that the money needs to be refunded.
The scam emails say that $100 has been fraudulently sent to the victims account and a refund is requested. The emails contain PayPal logos and appear to have been sent directly from PayPal. The emails appear to have been sent from the members@paypal.com email account. The message contains the subject line “You’ve got a money request”.
It is not clear how the attacker has managed to spoof the PayPal email account, or how the email manages to bypass the spam filter of Gmail.
If the victim responds to the email and makes the payment they will have lost $100; however, that is not all. The victim will also have malware loaded onto their computer. The malware will be loaded automatically regardless of whether the payment is made.
A link is contained in the email which the user must click to find out more about the transaction. The link contains a shortened URL and directs to a document detailing the transaction. The document has a goo.gl address and the link appears to be a jpeg image of the transaction details.
However, clicking the link will result in a javascript (.js) file being downloaded onto the victim’s computer. The script will download a flash executable file, which will install the malware if it is run.
Chthonic Banking Malware Delivered via PayPal Email Scam
The malware that is installed is a variant of the infamous Zeus banking malware – Chthonic. This malware has been programmed to inject its own code and images into banking websites. When the victim visits their online banking website the malware captures login names, passwords, PIN numbers, and answers to security questions. Many banking malware variants target a small number of financial institutions; however, Chthonic is capable of recording information entered into more than 150 different banking websites. Victims are primarily in the UK, US, Russia, Japan, and Italy.
Chthonic isn’t the only malware delivered. Researchers at Proofpoint have determined that an additional previously unknown malware variant called AZORult is also installed onto victims’ computers. Little is known about this new malware variant.
As the sports spectacular fast approaches it is time to be on high alert for Rio Olympics email scams. The Olympics have not yet started, but the scammers have certainly been active. Many new Rio Olympics email scams have been spotted in recent weeks and the number will certainly increase as the opening ceremony draws closer.
Any large sporting event that attracts massive global media interest is a good opportunity for scammers. With sports fans hungry for news of the latest events, information about competitors, or the latest betting odds, it is all too easy for the guard to be let down. A scramble for last minute tickets sees scammers rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Many scammers feel that the Olympics is shooting fish in a barrel season. Which sadly it is.
Kaspersky Lab has reported that the first Rio Olympics email scams were uncovered as early as 2015; however, as the opening ceremony draws closer activity has increased by several orders of magnitude. In the UK, Action Fraud – the National fraud reporting body – has already received reports of 47 cases of fraud relating to the Rio Olympics, which has resulted in attackers gaining more than £300,000 ($392,800) in funds.
Watch out for these Rio Olympics Email Scams
The Rio Olympics email scams are as diverse as the events being competed over the 17-day competition. It is therefore a time to be particularly cautious.
Criminals are after bank details for fraudulent transfers, credit card details to make purchases, personal data for identity theft, and login credentials for all manner of nefarious activities. It is a time for everyone to be on their guard. Be prepared for a barrage of Rio Olympics email scams over the next few weeks and keep your wits about you online.
Fake Tickets Scams
The price of a ticket to the opening ceremony will cost anywhere between $60 to $1,400, although touts are offering tickets at vastly inflated prices. Ticket prices to see the most popular events can cost several thousand dollars. If a scammer can get a victim to part with their hard earned cash it could potentially be a big payday. If you are still planning on attending and you haven’t yet purchased a ticket, only buy from official sellers.
Scammers have already registered a host of official-looking domain names to fool the unwary into purchasing tickets and parting with their credit card numbers. The websites use official logos that have been lifted from the Internet and appear genuine. Fake or cheap SSL certificates are also purchased making the connections appear secure, yet checks may not have been performed on the company. A SSL (website starting with https) does not guarantee it is genuine. Before parting with your money, at least perform a WHOIS search on the domain owner. Fake domains have usually been purchased in the past few weeks or months. Also perform some online checks to make sure the website is genuine.
Be aware that just because a website ranks highly in the search engines it doesn’t mean it is legitimate. Many scammers use search engine poisoning to increase the rank and position of their websites. They may even appear above those of official ticket vendors.
Many Rio Olympics email scams direct sports fans to unofficial ticket sellers and scam websites. You will at best pay over the odds for a ticket, but most likely you will just be giving your money to a scammer and no tickets will ever arrive in the post.
Congratulations! You Have Won!
If you receive an email informing you that you have won (insert amazing prize here), chances are it is a scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is. While many Rio Olympics email scams attempt to get individuals to disclose bank details and credit card information, a great deal attempt to obtain money by other means.
Many Rio Olympics email scams direct users to official looking scam websites. Be very careful about disclosing any information on any website during the Olympics.
Emails are sent with fake attachments which, if opened, will infect the email recipients’ computer with malware or ransomware. Malware can log keystrokes and obtain login credentials. Ransomware will encrypt files and a ransom must be paid in order to obtain decryption keys. Links contained in websites often direct users to malicious websites where drive-by malware downloads take place.
Olympics and Zika News
If you are a sports fan and you want to follow the latest news, search for sports sites online and bookmark the pages. Do not click links contained in emails that are delivered to your inbox or spam folder. Many people click on any links contained in emails that seem interesting. Doing so could prove very costly. Scammers are sending out fake news emails or links to legitimate stories. Those links do not direct the recipient to news websites, but to sites loaded with exploit kits which download malware and ransomware onto users’ computers.
Fake Prize Draws
Social media is awash with offers to enter prize draws to win tickets to the Olympics. Be exceptionally careful about disclosing any personal information on social media sites. Scammers often use fake prize draws to obtain sensitive personal data. Those data can be used for future email scams, or to gain access to online accounts. Phishing campaigns are rife during the Olympics.
Fake lottery scams are also commonplace. Emails are sent out in the millions telling recipients they have won a prize draw or lottery. To claim the winnings, it is necessary to pay an admin fee and disclose credit card details or provide bank details for the transfer along with other sensitive information. The golden rule is: If you have not entered the draw, you cannot have won it. If you are asked to make a payment in order to receive winnings it is likely a scam.
If in any doubt as to the legitimacy of an email, delete it. Chances are you have not won a competition you have not entered and you are not lucky enough to have won an all-expenses paid trip to Rio to see the Olympics. It is likely to be one of the many Rio Olympics email scams currently circulating cyberspace.
Protecting Employees and Networks from Attack
Businesses need to take care to protect their networks and prevent their employees from inadvertently downloading malware or giving attackers a foothold in their network. There are plenty of malicious actors that will be using the frenzy surrounding the Rio Olympics to conduct their nefarious activities.
One of the best defenses against Rio Olympics email scams – and other malicious email spam in general – is to use a robust email spam filter such as SpamTitan. SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of email spam, preventing malicious emails from being delivered to end users.
To find out how SpamTitan can help you improve your security posture and prevent malware, ransomware, and phishing emails from being delivered to your employees, give the TitanHQ sales team a call today.
According to the latest threat report from Proofpoint the top email security threat is now Locky ransomware. Locky, which is primarily distributed via spam email, has become the biggest threat to businesses in the past quarter. Locky is delivered via JavaScript email attachments which download the malicious file encrypter onto the computers of unsuspecting users.
Locky Ransomware Replaces Dridex as the Top Email Security Threat
Locky was first identified in February 2016 and is believed to have been released by the criminal gang behind the Dridex banking malware. In fact, Locky is distributed using the infamous Necurs botnet, one of the largest botnets currently in operation. Necurs was also used to deliver Dridex malware, which was the top email security threat in Q1. Figures from Proofpoint suggest Locky has been used in 69% of email attacks involving malicious documents in Quarter 2, 2016.
Not only is Locky now the top email security threat, malicious message volume also increased significantly in quarter 2. Proofpoint charted the rise in malicious email volume and the Quarterly Threat Summary shows volume has increased by 230% since Q1, 2016.
Bear in mind that the huge rise in malicious emails occurred even though the Necurs botnet went silent in early June and Locky emails essentially stopped being delivered. However, the botnet did not remain inactive for long. By the end of June it was back with a vengeance, with huge volumes of Locky emails delivered as part of a massive new campaign.
Malicious emails are now being sent at rates that have never before been seen, with JavaScript email attachments the delivery method of choice. Stopping these messages from being delivered now requires automated anti-spam solutions. According to Proofpoint, “Organizations must have a scalable, automated defense against email-based advanced threats that can adapt to new techniques and approaches.”
Exploit Kits Are Mostly Delivering CryptXXX Crypto-Ransomware
While Locky may be the top email security threat, exploit kits still pose a major risk to businesses and personal computer users. The Angler exploit kit may have died a death in early June, but Neutrino has now taken over as the EK of choice. Neutrino is targeting numerous vulnerabilities and CryptXXX crypto-ransomware is the main threat. The ransomware variant only appeared in Q2, but it has fast become a major problem and the most common EK threat.
CryptXXX may now be the most prevalent EK ransomware variant in use; however, there has been an explosion in the number of ransomware variants in 2016. Since the final quarter of 2015, the number of ransomware variants has increased by a factor of between 5 and 6 according to Proofpoint. The majority of ransomware is delivered via exploit kits, although many users are directed to malicious websites via links delivered by spam email.
Fortunately, EK activity has fallen considerably since April. Angler EK activity started to decline in late April and by the start of June EK activity had dropped by around 96%. Since the end of June, EK activity has started to increase with Neutrino the main EK now in use. Fortunately, EK activity has not returned to pre April levels. So far at least.
CryptXXX has fast become one of the most prevalent strains of ransomware, although until recently infection was only possible via malicious websites. Now researchers at Proofpoint have spotted CryptXXX ransomware emails. The group behind the attacks have added a new attack vector. CryptXXX ransomware emails contain a Word document containing a malicious macro. If the macro is allowed to run it will load a VB script into the memory which will use Powershell to make contact with the attackers’ command and control server. Once a connection has been made, CryptXXX will be downloaded onto the victim’s computer. Authors have realized the benefits to be gained from adopting an affiliate model to help infect machines and now a number of new players have entered the ransomware market.
If a “ransomware kit” is provided, individuals with little hacking skill can conduct their own ransomware campaigns. The ransomware authors can charge a nominal fee for supplying the kit, and can also take a cut on the back end. When an affiliate infects a computer and a ransom is paid, the authors receive a cut of the payment. This model works well and there is no shortage of individuals willing to try their hand at running ransomware campaigns. The CryptXXX ransomware emails are being sent by an affiliate (ID U000022) according to Proofpoint.
Identifying CryptXXX Ransomware Emails
The CryptXXX ransomware emails are being sent with a subject line of “Security Breach – Security Report #Randomnumber.” The emails contain only basic information about a supposed security breach that has occurred. The security report is supplied as an attached Word document. The body of the email contains the date, time of the attack, the provider, location, IP address, and port. The email recipient is instructed to open the file attachment to view details of the attack and find out about the actions that should be taken.
The file attachment is given a name such as “info12.doc” according to Proofpoint. If the attached Word file is opened, a Microsoft Office logo is displayed. The user is informed that the document has been created in a newer version of Microsoft Office. The content of the document will only be displayed if macros are enabled. Enabling the macros will result in the VB script being loaded. Then ransomware will then be downloaded and users’ files encrypted.
There is no fix if files are encrypted. The victim must pay the ransom or lose their files. Once an infection has occurred, files can only be recovered from backups if the victim does not pay the ransom.
CryptXXX Ransomware Still Being Delivered by Neutrino
Since the demise of the Angler exploit kit, CryptXXX was moved over to Neutrino. There was a dramatic fall in infections as activity temporarily stopped; however, Invincea recently reported a surge in activity via compromised business websites. The SoakSoak botnet is being used to scan the Internet for vulnerable websites. The websites being targeted run the WordPress Revslider slideshow plugin. Scripts are appended to the slideshow that redirect visitors to a malicious site containing Neutrino.
CryptXXX will only be downloaded if the endpoint lacks certain security tools that would detect an installation. If Wireshark, ESET, VMware, Fiddler, or a Flash debugging utility is present, the ransomware will not be downloaded.
The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility has issued an alert warning of a new phishing scam after a number of attorneys received a fake notification of action phishing email.
The notification of action phishing email appears to have been sent from attorney regulatory agencies and requests the recipient clicks on a link or opens an infected email attachment to view the details of a new legal complaint. If the attachment is opened or the link is clicked, crypto-ransomware will be installed on the email recipient’s device. Files will be locked and a ransom demand will appear demanding payment in exchange for a decryption key.
Alerts Issued After Spate of Phishing Emails Received by U.S Attorneys
The Center for Internet Security also issued a cyber-alert recently after becoming aware of new email scams that were targeting U.S lawyers. Lawyers in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Tennessee have all been targeted.
Last month, more than 50 lawyers reported receiving fake emails about new discipline investigations. The emails appeared to come from state disciplinary bodies and bar associations. The emails were designed to cause concern and prompt the recipient to click on links to find out more information.
In contrast to many phishing emails, this campaign appears to be targeted. The emails contain personal information about the recipient which may fool some attorneys into thinking the messages are authentic. The emails are particularly well written, which makes it harder to identify them as phishing scams.
While personal information is included, that information is likely to have been taken from attorneys’ websites or social media websites such as LinkedIn.
Some of the emails indicate a complaint has been filed against the recipient, some claim that the individual’s bar membership has lapsed. The links contained in the emails direct users to a spoofed website where a drive-by malware download occurs.
How to Identify a Notification of Action Phishing Email
Since the latest emails have been personalized and are well written, identifying them as fake is a little harder than with standard phishing emails.
To prevent a drive-by download of malware it is important to ensure that browsers and plugins are kept up to date. Email links from unknown recipients should not be clicked, and even if the email appears to be genuine care should be exercised.
If a notification of action phishing email appears to have come from a regulatory body, the recipient should visit the appropriate website by entering in the URL directly into their browser. Hovering the mouse arrow over the link will show the real address that that the recipient will be directed to if the link is clicked. Oftentimes this will display an alternate URL.
Anti-spam email solutions such as SpamTitan offer an additional level of protection. SpamTitan blocks 99.97% of spam emails from being delivered.
