Email Scams

Watch Out for Holiday Season & Black Friday Scams

by titanadmin | Nov 25, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

As consumers wait patiently for Black Friday to snaffle a bargain or two, scammers are hard at work perfecting their Black Friday scams and getting ahead of the game by offering amazing deals via email. In the run-up to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and throughout the holiday season, everyone should be wary of scams and spam emails. The superb offers and hugely discounted prices are not always what they seem. Most are scams.

There are Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals aplenty, with bricks and mortar and online retailers vying to get your business to kick start the holiday season shopping bonanza. Rather than being confined to the weekend, many retailers have offers over an extended period, and marketing for those deals starts well in advance. Black Friday deals seem to be taking over much of November. While there are bargains to be had, even the incredible prices being offered by genuine retailers may not be quite as good as they seem. While Black Friday deals are touted as being the lowest prices of the year, research suggests that is not necessarily the case. According to the consumer group Which? it is common for prices to be inflated in the run-up to Black Friday to make the discounts seem bigger, and in some cases, the price that a retailer claims a product has been reduced from has never been offered in the previous 12 months. It pays to do some research before you buy.

As far as online shopping goes, it is important to visit your favorite retailers’ websites directly and, as a general rule of thumb, never respond to any offers received by email by clicking links. If you get an email from a retailer advising you of a Black Friday deal, visit their website using your bookmark or by typing in the URL. If the offer is available it should be detailed on the website. This is important as the majority of Black Friday emails are scams. According to a recent analysis by Bitdefender – the company that powers the SpamTitan email sandbox – 77% of Black Friday-themed spam were scams, a 7% increase from 2023. Many of these scam emails impersonate big-name brands and offer impressive but fake discounts on products and services. They often lead to financial loss, data theft, and malware infections.

Black Friday scams include offering top-name brands at heavily discounted prices, but actually mailing cheap counterfeit goods or not mailing any product at all. Big-name brands have been impersonated in spam emails that include an attachment that purports to be a shipping confirmation, confirming that orders are ready for shipment when the attachments direct users to websites where they are asked to disclose their credentials or the attachments install malware.

At this time of year there is a surge in survey scams, where consumers are asked to take part in surveys in exchange for a discount or voucher, and after completing the survey are asked to disclose sensitive information that can be used directly for fraud or spear phishing campaigns.  If you receive unwanted marketing communications from genuine retailers, you can use the unsubscribe option to update your preferences, but make sure you carefully check the destination of the unsubscribe button and the sender’s email address to confirm the communication is from a legitimate retailer.

If you receive spam emails, the unsubscribe option should be avoided. Using the unsubscribe option lets the scammer know that the account is active, and all that is likely to happen is you will receive even more spam. Far better is to mark the email as spam and block the sender. Clicking an unsubscribe option in an email may direct you to a site where a vulnerability is exploited to download malware.

Businesses should ensure they have an effective spam filter, and it is never more important than in November, December, and January when spammers are highly active. At TitanHQ, we offer products that provide exception protection against spam, scams, phishing emails, and malware. In recent independent tests by VirusBulletin, the engine that powers the SpamTitan spam filtering service and the PhishTitan anti-phishing solution for Microsoft 365 achieved a 100% phishing catch rate, a 100% malware catch rate, and a spam catch rate in excess of 99.9% in November 2024 results. These follow overall scores in excess of 99.99% for blocking spam, phishing, and malware earlier in the year, demonstrating these email security products provide excellent and reliable protection against malicious and spam emails.

Two Dozen Healthcare Email Accounts Compromised in Targeted Phishing Campaign

by Jennifer Marsh | Apr 25, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

Many phishing campaigns involve indiscriminate emails that are sent in high volume in the hope that some recipients will respond. These campaigns tend to involve lures that are likely to be opened by as many users as possible such as missed deliveries, security warnings about unauthorized account access, and payments that will soon be applied to accounts. This spray-and-pray tactic is not nearly as effective as more tailored campaigns targeting specific types of users, and to make up for this, the campaigns involve huge volumes of messages. These campaigns are relatively easy for email security solutions to detect.

Phishing campaigns that target employees in a single organization can be much harder to identify. The threat actor tailors the message to the organization being targeted, and even to specific employees in the organization. These campaigns often use compromised vendor email accounts, with the emails being sent from trusted domains. There is a much greater chance of these emails landing in inboxes and the emails being opened by employees. Campaigns such as this can be highly effective and often result in many email accounts in the organization being compromised.

A recent example of this type of attack and the impact it can have comes from California. ​The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, an integrated health system that operates public hospitals and clinics in L.A. County, was targeted in a phishing campaign between February 19, 2024, and February 20, 2024. The emails appeared to have been sent by a trusted sender, landed in inboxes, and were opened by many employees. The emails contained a hyperlink that directed users to a website where they were told they needed to enter their login credentials. 23 employees fell for the scam and entered their credentials.

The credentials were captured, and the threat actor was able to access the employees’ email accounts, which contained sensitive patient data such as names, dates of birth, contact information, medical record numbers, dates of service, medical information, and health plan information. While the information exposed in the attack could not be used for identity theft – Social Security numbers were not compromised – the attacker gained access to information that could be used for medical identity theft. The patients affected could also be targeted in very convincing phishing campaigns to obtain further information such as Social Security numbers. Similar attacks have been reported by other healthcare organizations where the email accounts contained vast amounts of data, including tens of thousands of Social Security numbers and sensitive financial information.

After attacks such as this, additional security awareness training is provided to the workforce to raise awareness of the threat from phishing; however, the provision of comprehensive training regularly throughout the year will go a long way toward ensuring that attacks such as this do not succeed and that if they do, the resultant data breach is far less severe.

TitanHQ’s SafeTitan security awareness training platform allows organizations to conduct comprehensive training continuously, and since each training module is a maximum of 10 minutes, it is easy to fit the training into busy workflows. The training platform has a huge range of content, covering a broad range of threats, and when programs are run continuously and employees complete a few training modules a month, susceptibility to phishing drops considerably, especially when the SafeTitan phishing simulator is also used. The simulator includes templates taken from recent real-world phishing campaigns. If a user responds to one of these simulations, they are immediately told where they went wrong and are required to complete a training module relevant to that threat.

End-user security awareness training is an important part of your cybersecurity arsenal, but it is also vital to block as many phishing emails as possible. TitanHQ’s SpamTitan email security is an advanced, AI and machine learning-driven anti-spam solution that blocks more than 99.9% of spam email and phishing threats. The solution includes twin antivirus engines for blocking known malware, and sandboxing for blocking zero-day threats, and is a highly effective spam filter for Office 365. With SafeTitan security awareness training and an advanced Microsoft 365 spam filter from TitanHQ, businesses will be well protected from phishing threats.

All TitanHQ solutions are intuitive, easy to use, and can be set up in just a few minutes and are available on a free trial to allow you to test them out for yourself before making a purchase decision. Independent reviews from genuine users of TitanHQ solutions show SpamTitan is much loved by users. On G2 reviews, SpamTitan is consistently given 5-star reviews by end users, who rate it the best spam filter for Outlook due to its effectiveness, low cost, ease of use, and the excellent customer service from the TitanHQ team.

SafeTitan and SpamTitan are available on a free trial to allow you to test them out for yourself before making a purchase decision. Give the TitanHQ team a call today to take the first step toward improving your phishing defenses.

Financial Institutions Targeted in Phishing Campaign That Delivers the JSOutProx RAT

by Jennifer Marsh | Apr 17, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

A phishing campaign has been running since late March that tricks people into installing a new version of the remote access trojan, JSOutProx. JSOutProx was first identified in 2019 and is a backdoor that utilizes JavaScript and .NET that allows users to run shell commands, execute files, take screenshots, control peripheral devices, and download additional malware payloads. The malware is known to be used by a threat actor tracked as Solar Spider, which mostly targets financial institutions in Central Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, with the latest version of the malware also being used to target organizations in the Middle East.

The malware has mostly been used on banks and other financial institutions. If infected, the malware collects information about its environment and the attackers then download any of around 14 different plug-ins from either GitHub or GitLab, based on the information the malware collects about its operating environment. The malware can be used to control proxy settings, access Microsoft Outlook account details, capture clipboard content, and steal one-time passwords from Symantec VIP.

Like many other remote access trojans, JSOutProx is primarily delivered via phishing emails. A variety of lures have been used in the phishing emails but the latest campaign uses fake notifications about SWIFT payments in targeted attacks on financial institutions and MoneyGram payment notifications in attacks on individuals, which aim to trick the recipients into installing the malware.

The latest campaign uses JavaScript attachments that masquerade as PDF files of financial documents contained in .zip files. If the user attempts to open the fake PDF file, the JavaScript is executed deploying the malware payload. The main aim of the campaign is to steal user account credentials, gather sensitive financial documents, and obtain payment account data, which can either be used to make fraudulent transactions or be sold to other threat actors on the dark web. Email accounts are often compromised which can be leveraged in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks to steal funds from clients. According to VISA, “The JSOutProx malware poses a serious threat to financial institutions around the world, and especially those in the AP region as those entities have been more frequently targeted with this malware.”

Since phishing is the main method of malware delivery, the best defense against attacks is advanced anti-spam software and end-user security awareness training. JSOutProx malware is able to bypass many traditional anti-spam solutions and anti-virus software due to the high level of obfuscation. The best defense is an anti-spam solution with AI and machine learning capabilities that can identify the signs of malicious emails by analyzing message headers and message content to determine how they deviate from the emails typically received by the business and also search for the signs of phishing and malware delivery based on the latest threat intelligence.

To identify the malicious attachments, an anti-spam solution requires sandboxing. Any messages that pass standard antivirus checks are sent to the sandbox where behavior is analyzed to identify malicious actions, rather than relying on malware signatures for detection. SpamTitan can extract and analyze files in compressed archives such as .zip and .rar files and in recent independent tests, SpamTitan achieved a phishing catch rate of 99.914%, a malware catch rate of 99.511%, with a false positive rate of 0.00%. SpamTitan from TitanHQ is delivered as either a hosted anti-spam service or an anti-spam gateway that is installed on-premises on existing hardware. SpamTitan has been developed to be easy to implement and use and meet the needs of businesses of all sizes and managed service providers.

Phishing emails target employees so it is important to teach them how to identify phishing emails. Due to the fast-changing threat landscape, security awareness training should be provided continuously to the workforce, and phishing simulations should be conducted to give employees practice at identifying threats. SafeTitan from TitanHQ can be used to easily create effective training programs that run continuously throughout the year and keep employees up to date on the latest threats and tactics, techniques, and procedures used by malicious actors. SafeTitan also delivers relevant training in real-time in response to security mistakes and phishing simulation failures. Check out these anti-spam tips for further information on improving your defenses against phishing and get in touch with TitanHQ for more information on SpamTitan email security and the SafeTitan security awareness training platform.

Monthly Salary Reports Used as Lure in RAT-delivering Phishing Campaign

by Jennifer Marsh | Apr 16, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

One of the most effective ways of getting employees to open malicious emails is to make the emails appear to have been sent internally and to use a lure related to salaries, as is the case with a recently identified campaign that is used to deliver a Remote Access Trojan called NetSupport RAT.

The campaign was first identified by researchers at Perception Point who intercepted an email that appeared to have been sent by the accounts department and purported to be a monthly salary report. The recipient is told to review the report and get back in touch with the accounts department if they have any questions or concerns about the data.  Due to the sensitive nature of the data, the salary chart is in a password-protected document, and the employee is told to enter the password provided in the email if the enable editing option is unavailable. The user is prompted to download the .docx file, enter the password, and then click enable editing, after which they need to click on the image of a printer embedded in the document. Doing so will display the user’s salary graph.

The document uses an OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) template which is a legitimate tool that allows linking to documents and other objects, in this case, a malicious script that is executed by clicking on the printer icon. This method of infection is highly effective, as the malicious payload is not contained in the document itself, so standard antivirus scans of the document will not reveal any malicious content. If the user clicks the printer icon, a ZIP archive file will be opened that includes a single Windows shortcut file, which is a PowerShell dropper that will deliver the NetSupport RAT from the specified URL and execute it, also adding a registry key for persistence.

NetSupport RAT has been developed from a legitimate remote desktop tool called NetSupport Manager which is typically used to provide remote technical support and IT assistance. The malware allows a threat actor to gain persistent remote access to an infected device, gather data from the endpoint, and run commands. While the use of OLE template manipulation is not new, this method has not previously been used to deliver the NetSupport RAT via email.

The threat actor uses encrypted documents to deliver the malware to evade email security solutions, and the emails are sent using a legitimate email marketing platform called Brevo, which allows the emails to pass standard reputation checks. This campaign is another example of how threat actors are increasing the sophistication of their phishing campaigns and how they can bypass standard email security defenses, including Microsoft’s anti-malware and anti-phishing protections for Microsoft 365 environments.

While the lure and the steps users are taken through are reasonable, there are red flags at various stages of the infection process where end users should identify the email as potentially malicious. In order for that to happen, end users should be provided with regular security awareness training. TitanHQ offers a comprehensive security awareness training platform called SafeTitan, which includes training modules to teach employees how to identify the red flags in email campaigns such as this. The platform also includes a phishing simulator, that allows these types of emails to be sent to employees to test the effectiveness of their training. If they fail a simulation, they are immediately shown where they missed the opportunity to identify the threat, with relevant training generated instantly in real time.

Sophisticated phishing attacks require sophisticated anti-phishing defenses to block these emails before they reach end users’ inboxes. While standard antivirus checks can block many malicious payloads, behavioral analysis of attachments and files is essential. TitanHQ’s cloud-based anti-spam service – SpamTitan – performs a barrage of front-end checks of messages including reputation checks and Bayesian analysis, machine-learning algorithms analyze messages for potentially malicious and phishing content, scan attachments with twin antivirus engines, and messages are sent to a sandbox for deep analysis. In the sandbox, malicious behavior can be identified allowing even sophisticated phishing emails to be blocked by the cloud spam filter.

A hosted email filter is often the best fit for businesses, although SpamTitan is available as a gateway spam filter. The TitanHQ team will be happy to listen to your requirements and suggest the best option to meet your needs. Give the team a call today to find out more about improving your email defenses against sophisticated phishing and malware distribution campaigns and how to provide more effective security awareness training.

Sophisticated Phishing Campaign Delivers Rats via SVG File Attachments

by Jennifer Marsh | Apr 15, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

A sophisticated phishing campaign has been detected that is being used to deliver a variety of Remote Access Trojan (RAT) malware, including Venom RAT, Remcos RAT, and NanoCore RAT, as well as a stealer that targets cryptocurrency wallets. The campaign uses email as the initial access vector with the messages purporting to be an invoice for a shipment that has recently been delivered. The emails include a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file attachment – an increasingly common XML-based vector image format.

If the file is executed, it will drop a compressed (zip) file on the user’s device. The zip file contains a batch file that has been created with an obfuscation tool (most likely BatCloak) to allow it to evade anti-virus software. If not detected as malicious, a ScrubCrypt batch file is unpacked – another tool used to bypass antivirus protections – which delivers two executable files that are used to deliver and execute the RAT and establish persistence. This method of delivery allows the malware to evade AMSI (Antimalware Scan Interface) and ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) antivirus protections.

One of the primary payloads is Venom RAT, which establishes a connection with its command and control (C2) server, transmits sensitive information gathered from the compromised device and runs commands from its C2 server. Venon RAT can download additional modules and malware payloads, including a stealer malware that targets folders associated with cryptocurrency wallets and applications including Atomic Wallet, Electrum, Exodus, Foxmail, and Telegram.

The sophisticated nature of this campaign and the obfuscation used to hide the malicious payloads from traditional antivirus software demonstrates the need for advanced email defenses and end-user training. Email security solutions that rely on malware signatures are easily bypassed, which is why it is important to use an anti-spam solution that incorporates sandboxing for blocking malware and AI and machine learning capabilities to identify malicious emails.

SpamTitan uses AI and machine learning algorithms to detect phishing emails that other solutions miss – including Microsoft’s basic and advanced anti-phishing mechanisms for Microsoft 365. SpamTitan includes Sender Policy Framework (SPF), SURBL’s, RBL’s, Bayesian analysis, and more, and the machine learning algorithms can detect email messages that deviate from the typical messages received by a business and can identify header anomalies, address spoofing, and suspect email body content. All inbound messages are subjected to standard and advanced malware checks, including scans using twin anti-virus engines and email sandboxing.  If all anti-malware checks are passed, including unpacking and analyzing compressed files, messages are sent to the sandbox for behavioral analysis.

In the cloud-based sandbox, malicious actions are identified such as attempts to deliver additional files as is commonly seen in multi-stage attacks and C2 calls. In recent independent tests (Virus Bulletin), SpamTitan achieved a phishing catch rate of 99.914%, a malware catch rate of 99.511%, and a false positive rate of 0.00%. With phishing attacks becoming more sophisticated you need to have sophisticated defenses. With email security protection provided by SpamTitan and security awareness training delivered using TitanHQ’s award-winning SafeTitan security awareness training and phishing simulation platform you will be well protected from email-based attacks.

Give the TitanHQ team a call today to find out more about how you can improve your defenses against email-based attacks with sandboxing technology and how to add more layers to your defenses to block the full range of cyberattacks.

Stealthy Lactrodectus Malware Increasingly Used for Initial Access to Networks

by Jennifer Marsh | Apr 14, 2024 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

A relatively new malware variant dubbed Latrodectus is increasingly being used to gain initial access to business networks. Latrodectus is the Latin for Widow spiders, but the malware was so named because of a line in the code that mentions the word. The malware was first detected in November 2023, and detections have been increasing ever since, especially since February 2024. Analyses of Latrodectus malware have revealed strong similarities with the IcedID remote access trojan (RAT) and malware loader, and the infrastructure that supports the malware was previously used in IcedID campaigns. That strongly suggests that Latrodectus malware is the successor of IcedID and was most likely developed by the same threat actor.

Latrodectus malware is primarily a malware downloader and backdoor that is used to deliver a range of different payloads and execute commands on an infected device. Latrodectus is a modular malware capable of adapting to different environments, has extensive capabilities, is stealthy, and can bypass many cybersecurity solutions.  The malware checks for the presence of debuggers, has anti-sandbox capabilities and encrypts communications with its C2 server. The malware gains persistence via auto-run keys and scheduled tasks.

Latrodectus malware is believed to be used by highly capable threat actors that specialize in gaining initial access to networks to sell on to other threat actors such as ransomware groups. The malware is primarily distributed in phishing emails, with the detected emails so far using Microsoft Azure and Cloudflare-themed lures, with either PDF file attachments or URLs embedded in emails. The malware has also been identified as being distributed via contact form spam.

If the PDF files are opened, the user is told that the document has been uploaded to the Microsoft Azure Cloud and they are required to download it. The user is then directed to a fake Cloudflare security check that adds legitimacy but also prevents email security solutions from following the link and prevents in-depth analysis in sandboxes. If the user proceeds, they will download a JavaScript file that appears to be the document indicated in the PDF file. If the file is executed, a script runs that downloads an MSI installer, which drops and executes the Lactrodectus DLL.

Due to the evasive capabilities of the malware, standard email security solutions are unlikely to identify the phishing emails as malicious, and even email sandboxing checks may be passed. An advanced anti-spam service is required that incorporates AI- and machine learning capabilities to identify the malicious nature of the email. SpamTitan Plus is an advanced email security solution with the highest coverage of anti-phishing feeds of any product on the market, incorporating coverage of 100% of all current market-leading anti-phishing feeds. The superior threat intelligence fed into the system and massive clickstream traffic from more than 600 million users and endpoints ensure the URLs used to deliver malware are detected and blocked. The machine learning capabilities of SpamTitan Plus allow the solution to predict and block novel phishing campaigns, including phishing attacks that use personalized URLs when targeting individuals. URLs are followed and are rewritten to identify the destination, and the solution features time-of-click protection to identify and block URLs that are weaponized after delivery.

As an additional protection, businesses should consider a web filtering solution. WebTitan from TitanHQ protects against the web-based component of cyberattacks. While SpamTitan Plus can block attempts to visit URLs embedded in emails and email attachments, WebTitan will block visits to URLs from general web browsing, redirects from malvertising, and non-email communications. WebTitan can also be configured to block downloads of files from the Internet associated with malware – JavaScript files for instance.

End-user training is also important to teach cybersecurity best practices and eliminate risky behaviors. SafeTitan is a comprehensive security awareness training platform with hundreds of training modules that can be easily configured to create and automate training courses relevant to individuals and user groups. The platform includes a phishing simulator for conducting realistic phishing simulations, using messages that have been created from genuine phishing attacks. The platform is the only behavior-driven security awareness training platform that delivers training in real time in response to simulation failures and security mistakes.

As cyber threats increase in sophistication, multiple cybersecurity solutions are required to provide multi-layered protection. TitanHQ solutions will ensure you are well protected from ever-changing cyber threats and sophisticated phishing and malware attacks.

RPMSG Attachments Used in Sophisticated Phishing Attacks to Steal M365 Credentials

by Jennifer Marsh | May 30, 2023 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

A new phishing technique has been identified by security researchers that uses compromised Microsoft 365 accounts to send phishing emails that contain .RPMSG attachments, which are used in a sophisticated attack to gain access to Microsoft 365 accounts.

RPMSG files are used to deliver e-mails with the Rights-Managed Email Object Protocol enabled. In contrast to regular emails that are sent in plain text and can be read by anyone or any security solution, these files are encrypted and are stored as an encrypted file attachment. The files can also be used to limit the ability of users to forward or copy emails. The intended recipient can read the encrypted messages after they have been authenticated, either by using their Microsoft 365 credentials or a one-time passcode.

Phishing attacks using these files give the impression that the messages are protected and secured, as access is restricted to authorized users. If a user is unfamiliar with RPMSG files and they perform a Google search, they will quickly discover that these files are used for secure emails, giving the impression that the emails are genuine.

The use of RPMSG files in phishing attacks was discovered by researchers at Trustwave. In this scam, an email is sent from a compromised account, and since these accounts are at legitimate businesses, the emails appear genuine. For example, one of the scams used a compromised account at the payment processing company Talus Pay.

The emails are sent to targeted individuals, such as employees in the billing department of a company. The emails are encrypted, and credentials need to be entered before the content of the email can be viewed. In this campaign, the emails tell the recipient that Talus Pay has sent them a protected message, and the email body includes a “Read the message” button that users are prompted to click. The emails also contain a link that the user can click to learn about messages protected by Microsoft Purview Message Encryption.

If the recipient clicks the link to read the message, they are directed to a legitimate Office 365 email webpage where they are required to authenticate with their Microsoft 365 credentials. After authentication, the user is redirected to a fake SharePoint document, which is hosted on the Adobe InDesign service. If they try to open the file, they are directed to the final destination URL that shows a “Loading… Wait” message, and while on that URL, a malicious script runs and collects system information. When that process is completed, a cloned Microsoft 365 login form is displayed, which sends the username and password to the attacker’s command and control server if entered. The script collects information such as visitor ID, connect token and hash, video card renderer information, system language, device memory, hardware concurrency, installed browser plugins, browser window details, and OS architecture.

The problem with phishing attempts involving encrypted content is email security solutions are unable to decrypt the content. In this scam, the only URL in the email directs the user to a legitimate Microsoft service which is not malicious, making these phishing attempts difficult to block without also blocking legitimate Microsoft encrypted emails. The key to preventing this type of sophisticated phishing attack is education. Through security awareness training, employees should be warned never to open unsolicited encrypted messages, even if the messages appear to have been sent by a legitimate user. They should also be conditioned to report any such messages to their IT security team for further investigation.

The SafeTitan security awareness training program can be used by businesses to create training courses for employees, tailored to each individual’s role and the threats they are likely to encounter. The training content is engaging to improve knowledge retention and can be easily updated to include information on the latest threats, such as phishing attacks involving RPMSG files. The platform also includes a phishing simulator that can be used to automate phishing simulations on the workforce, and RPMSG phishing emails can easily be incorporated into the simulator to check whether employees are fooled by these sophisticated attacks. If a user fails a phishing simulation, they are automatically provided with training content in real-time relevant to the simulation they failed. This on-the-spot training is the most effective way of re-educating the workforce and ensures training is provided at the point when it is most likely to be effective.

For more information on SafeTitan Security awareness training and phishing protection, call the TitanHQ team today.

Emotet Botnet Back and Sending Malicious Emails with Malicious OneNote Attachments

by Jennifer Marsh | Mar 28, 2023 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

The Emotet botnet has resumed activity after a break of around 3 months as the threat group attempts to build up the number of infected devices. The Emotet botnet consists of an army of devices that have been infected with Emotet malware, which gives the operators of the botnet access to those devices. That allows data to be stolen from the infected devices and for access to be sold to other threat actors to allow them to conduct attacks, such as by delivering additional malware payloads such as Cobalt Strike, banking Trojans, information stealers, and ransomware. Infected devices are also used to grow the botnet. Emotet malware can hijack email accounts, steal message threads, and send copies of itself to the victim’s contacts. Since the emails come from a trusted email account they are more likely to be opened.

Emotet campaigns do not run constantly throughout the year. The threat actor tends to have several months of downtime with the last campaign coming to an end in November 2022. The botnet is now active once again and is sending emails, which means businesses need to be on high alert. The activity commenced at the end of the first week of the month and now high volumes of emails are being sent.

While Emotet is well known for hijacking email threads and using reply-chain emails, this time around a campaign is being conducted that includes ZIP file attachments purporting to contain invoices. Some of the emails intercepted include compressed Word documents that are over 500 MB in size when they are extracted. The large file size is used to defeat antivirus software. If the documents are opened, the user is presented with a warning that the document is protected and they are told that they need to ‘enable editing’ and ‘enable content’ to preview the document. These security warnings are in place to prevent macros from running and enabling the content will see the macros run and Emotet malware be downloaded onto the device from a compromised website. The downloaded file – a DLL file – is similarly inflated to more than 500 MB to prevent scanning by AV solutions. The payloads often change to prevent detection, and detection rates are usually very low for each payload.

One of the campaigns detected in the past few days targets U.S. taxpayers. In this campaign, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and legitimate businesses are impersonated using fake W-9 tax forms. These W-9 tax forms are also included in a ZIP file attachment and the files are also inflated to more than 500 MB. In this campaign, the Emotet gang returns to using reply-chain emails so it appears that the emails have been sent from a trusted entity that has emailed in the past.

Fortunately, email-based attacks using macros to deliver malicious payloads are becoming much less effective due to a 2022 update from Microsoft that disables macros automatically in Internet-delivered Office files. In response, like other threat actors, the Emotet gang has changed tactics and is now sending emails with OneNote attachments, which do not support macros and therefore bypass Microsoft’s anti-macro controls. OneNote files allow embedded content, which in this case is a VBS attachment that is hidden under a view button. The user is told to double-click on the view button, but what they are really doing is double-clicking on the VBS attachment under the fake view button, which executes the script and delivers Emotet malware from a compromised website.

With Emotet back up and running it is a good idea to ensure that employees are trained to recognize these malicious emails and the SafeTitan security awareness training platform from TitanHQ allows you to easily do that and keep employees up to date on the latest Emotet tactics. SafeTitan also includes a phishing simulator that allows you to simulate Emotet emails in phishing tests to see which employees click. Those individuals can then be provided with additional training to ensure that if a real Emotet email is received, they will be able to recognize it as such.

For more information on SafeTitan Security Awareness Training, contact the TitanHQ team today.

Cybercriminals Use Facebook Posts to Bypass Phishing Defenses

by Jennifer Marsh | Dec 28, 2022 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

Cybercriminals are constantly coming up with new tactics for stealing credentials and other sensitive information. Phishing is one of the main ways that this is achieved, but most businesses have spam filters that block these malicious messages. If a phishing email is developed that can bypass email security measures and land in the inboxes of a business, there is a good chance that the emails will be clicked and at least some accounts can be compromised.

Spam filters such as SpamTitan incorporate a range of advanced measures for detecting phishing emails, including reputation checks of IP addresses, analyses of the message headers and bodies, and machine learning algorithms determine the probability that an email is malicious. Dual anti-virus engines are used for detecting known malware, and the next-gen email sandbox is used to detect zero-day malware threats by analyzing how files behave when opened, and hyperlinks in emails are scanned and followed to determine if they are malicious.

To bypass email security solutions, threat actors may link a legitimate website in an email, such as providing a URL for SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, or another legitimate platform. These URLs are more difficult to identify as malicious as these websites pass reputation checks. Malicious URLs on these platforms are often reported and are then blocked by email security solutions, but the URLs often change and are never used for long.

A campaign has recently been detected that uses this tactic and attempts to direct users to the genuine Facebook.com site, with the phishing emails containing a link to a Facebook post. The phishing email comes from a legitimate-looking domain – officesupportonline.com – and warns the user that some of the features of their Facebook account have been deactivated due to copyright-infringing material. Like many phishing emails, the user is told they must take urgent action to prevent the deletion of their account. In this case, they are threatened with the deletion of their account if there is no response within 48 hours.

A link is supplied to a post on Facebook.com that the user is required to click to appeal the decision. The post masquerades as a Facebook.com support page from Facebook Page Support, which provides a link to an external webpage that the user is required to click to “Appeal a Page Copyright Violation”. The URL includes the name of Facebook’s parent company, Meta, although the domain is actually meta.forbusinessuser.xyz – A domain that is not owned by Meta or Facebook. URL shortening services are used in these campaigns to hide the true URL.

If the user clicks the link they will be directed to a page that closely resembles the genuine Facebook copyright appeal page. In order to appeal the decision, the user must complete a form that asks for their full name, email address, phone number, and Facebook username. If that information is submitted through the form, geolocation information is also collected along with the user’s IP address, and the information is sent to the scammer’s Telegram account.

The next stage of the scam sees the user redirected to another page where they are asked to provide a 6-digit one-time password, which they are told is required when a user attempts to sign into their account from a new device or browser. This is a fake 2-factor authentication box, and if the user enters any 6-digit code it will produce an error, but the code entered will be captured by the attacker. The user will be directed to the genuine Facebook site if they click the “need another way to authenticate?” option on the page.

Campaigns such as this highlight the importance of layered defenses. Spam filters are effective at blocking the majority of spam and phishing emails, but some messages will bypass spam filters and will be delivered to inboxes. One of the best ways to augment your phishing defenses is to provide security awareness training to your workforce, and this is key to combatting new phishing tactics such as this Facebook phishing scam.

Employees should be taught how to identify phishing attempts and what to do if a potentially malicious email is received. In addition to providing training, phishing simulations should be conducted on the workforce to give employees practice at identifying phishing threats while they are completing their usual work duties. If a simulation fails, the employee can be told what went wrong and how they could identify similar threats in the future.

TitanHQ offers businesses a comprehensive security awareness training and phishing simulation platform called SafeTitan. The platform includes an extensive range of training content on all aspects of security, and a phishing simulation platform with hundreds of phishing templates taken from real-world phishing attacks. SafeTitan automates the provision of training and is the only behavior-driven security awareness training platform that delivers intervention training in real-time in response to security mistakes by employees, ensuring training is provided at the time when it is likely to be most effective at changing employee behavior.

Microsoft’s Automatic Blocking of Macros Has Been Temporarily Rolled Back

by titanadmin | Jul 12, 2022 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

Microsoft previously announced a new security feature that would see VBA macros automatically blocked by default, but there has been a rollback in response to negative feedback from users.

Phishing emails are commonly used for malware delivery which contain links to websites where the malware is hosted or by using malicious email attachments. Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Visio files are commonly attached to emails that include VBA macros. While there are legitimate uses for VBA macros, they are often used for malware delivery. When the documents are opened, the macros would run and deliver a malware loader or sometimes the malware payload directly.

Office macros have been used to deliver some of the most dangerous malware variants, including Emotet, TrickBot, Qakbot, Dridex. To improve security, in February 2022, Microsoft announced that it would be blocking VBA macros by default. If macros are blocked automatically, it makes it much harder for this method of malware delivery to succeed.

With autoblocking of macros, users are presented with a security alert if a file is opened that includes a VBA macro. When opening a file with a VBA macro, the following message is displayed in red:

“SECURITY RISK: Microsoft has blocked macros from running because the source of this file is untrusted.”

The user would not be able to click the warning to override the blocking, instead, they would be directed to a resource that provides further information on the risk of enabling macros. They would have the option of ignoring the warning but would be strongly advised not to. Previously, a security warning was displayed in a yellow warning box that says, “Security Warning: Macros have been disabled.” The user would be presented with a prompt to Enable Content, and thus ignore the warning.

Microsoft had rolled out this new security feature, but recently Windows users started to notice that the new security warning was no longer being displayed, instead, Microsoft appeared to have rolled back to its previous system without announcing it was doing so.

Microsoft did confirm that it is rolling back this security feature and that an update announcing that has been planned; however, it had not been announced before the rollback started. The process has been heavily criticized, not for the rollback itself (although there has been criticism of that), but for starting the rollback without first making an announcement.

Microsoft said the rollback was due to negative feedback it had received, but it is not known at this stage which users had complained. It is suspected that the change posed a problem for individuals who commonly use VBA macros, and the automatic blocking made the process of running macros cumbersome. Most SMB users, however, do not deal with macros frequently, so the rollback means a reduction in security.

It took several days for Microsoft to confirm that the rollback is temporary and that it was necessary to make changes to improve usability. Microsoft said it is still committed to blocking macros by default for users. So, while this is a U-turn, it is just a temporary one.

While automatically blocking macros is important to improve security, it is still strongly recommended to implement a robust email security solution, as macros are not the only way that malware is delivered via email. Also, blocking macros will do nothing to stop phishing emails from being delivered.

With SpamTitan Email Security, phishing and malware threats can be easily blocked. For more information, give the TitanHQ team a call.

LinkedIn is Now the Most Impersonated Brand in Phishing Attacks

by titanadmin | Apr 19, 2022 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

LinkedIn has jumped to the top of the list of the most impersonated brands in phishing attacks, now accounting for 52% of all phishing attacks involving brand impersonation – a 550% increase from the 8% in the previous quarter, according to Check Point.

LinkedIn phishing scams take various forms, although one of the most common is a fake request from an individual to connect on the platform. The phishing emails include the official LinkedIn logo and are indistinguishable from the genuine LinkedIn communications that they spoof. If the user clicks on the Accept button, they are directed to a phishing webpage that is a carbon copy of the genuine LinkedIn page aside from the domain.

The increase in LinkedIn phishing attacks is part of a trend in attacks targeting social media credentials. While these credentials do not provide an immediate financial return, social media account credentials are valuable to cybercriminals as they allow them to conduct highly effective spear phishing attacks. If a corporate social media account is compromised, trust in the company can be abused to distribute malware and links can be added to direct followers to malicious websites.

Failed delivery and shipping notifications are still a common theme in phishing emails targeting businesses and consumers. Around 22% of phishing attacks in Q1, 2022 involved the impersonation of shipping and delivery companies. The package delivery firm DHL is the second most spoofed brand accounting for 14% of brand impersonation attacks. Many of these shipping and delivery phishing emails are conducted to distribute malware, usually through the downloading of fake documents that include malicious code that installs malware such as remote access Trojans.

Phishing is the number one threat faced by businesses. Most successful cyberattacks start with a phishing email, with stolen credentials or malware providing cybercriminals with the foothold they need in a corporate network to launch an extensive attack. Phishing attacks are cheap and easy to conduct and they target employees, who can easily be fooled into installing malware or disclosing their credentials.

This month, a healthcare data breach was reported by Christie Clinic in the United States that involved a hacker gaining access to a single email account. That account was used in a business email compromise attack to divert a large vendor payment. Business email compromise attacks are the main cause of losses to cybercrime according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In this breach, the compromised email account contained the personal data of more than half a million patients. Cyberattacks such as this only require one employee to respond to a phishing email for a costly data breach to occur.

Also this month, a new malware distribution campaign has been identified that attempts to install the Meta information stealer, which is capable of stealing passwords stored in browsers and cryptocurrency wallets. The malware is delivered via phishing emails with Excel spreadsheet attachments, which include malicious macros that download and install malware via HTTPS from GitHub. In this campaign, the lure used to trick recipients into opening the file claims to be a notification about an approved transfer of funds to Home Depot, the details of which are detailed in the attached spreadsheet. In order to view the contents of the spreadsheet, the user is told they must enable content to remove DocuSign protection. Enabling content allows the macros to run.

An advanced spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan will help to ensure that inboxes are kept free of phishing emails and any emails containing malicious scripts or attachments are not delivered. SpamTitan includes dual antivirus engines to ensure malware is identified and sandboxing to catch malware variants that bypass signature-based detection mechanisms. The next-gen email sandbox is part of a set of award-winning machine learning and behavioral analysis technologies that are capable of identifying and blocking zero-day threats,

While a spam filter used to be sufficient for blocking phishing emails, the sophisticated nature of phishing attacks today and the sheer volume of phishing emails being sent, mean some phishing emails will inevitably arrive in inboxes. For this reason it is also important to provide regular security awareness training to the workforce. TitanHQ can help in this regard through SafeTitan security awareness training and phishing simulations. SafeTitan is the only behavior-driven security awareness solution that delivers security awareness training in real-time. The solution is proven to significantly improve resilience to phishing attacks.

Warning Issued About Brand Phishing Attacks and the Widespread Availability of Scampage Tools

by titanadmin | Nov 24, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about an increase in spear phishing campaigns impersonating big name brands. Brand phishing is incredibly common and is an effective way of getting individuals to disclose sensitive information such as login credentials or install malware.

Brand phishing abuses trust in a brand. When individuals receive an email from a brand they know and trust, they are more likely to take the action requested in the email. Brand phishing emails usually include the logo of the targeted brand, and the emails use the same message formats as genuine communications from those brands. Links are usually included to malicious web pages that are often hidden in buttons to hide the true destination URL.

If a user clicks the link, they are directed to an attacker-controlled domain that similarly uses branding to fool the victim and make them think they are on the genuine website of the spoofed brand. These webpages include forms that harvest sensitive data. Alternatively, malicious files may be downloaded, with social engineering techniques used to trick victims into opening the files and installing malware.

Cyber threat actors are offering scampage tools on underground marketplaces to help other cybercriminals conduct more effective phishing campaigns. These scampage tools are offered under the product-as-a-service model and allow individuals to conduct convincing phishing campaigns, even people who do not possess the skills to conduct phishing campaigns. With phishing opened up to would-be cybercriminals, the threat to individuals and businesses increases.

The FBI says the scampage tools now being offered can recognize when individuals use their email address as their login ID for a website. Websites require a unique username to be provided when creating an account, and many use an individual’s email address as their username by default.

The scampage tools can identify when a user has set their email address as their username, and when that is detected, they will be directed to a scampage for the same email domain. The user is required to enter their password to log in, which will allow the threat actor to obtain the password and access the victim’s email. With access to the email account, attackers can intercept 2-factor authentication codes, thus bypassing this important control mechanism. With 2FA codes, the attacker will be able to gain access to accounts and make changes, including updating passwords to lock users out of their accounts or change security rules before the owner of the account can be notified.

“Much like the threat with ransomware-as-a-service, this type of product-as-a-service distribution of scampage and credential harvesting tools presents an increased nationwide risk to private sector businesses and their consumers,” said the FBI in its public service announcement. “Brand-phishing email campaigns and scampage tools that help bypass 2FA security measures represent another aspect to this emerging cyber threat.”

To counter the threat, businesses should implement an advanced spam filtering solution to block phishing emails and prevent them from being delivered to employee inboxes. Password policies should be created that require strong passwords to be set, and checks performed to ensure commonly used or weak passwords cannot be set on accounts. Employees should be told to never reuse passwords on multiple accounts and to ensure that all business accounts have unique passwords. Security awareness training should be provided to the workforce to teach email security best practices and train employees on how to identify phishing emails and other scams.

Given the increase in the use of scampage tools, if there is the option, users should set a unique username for an account that is not associated with their primary email address. 2-factor authentication should be configured, and where possible, a software-based authenticator program should be used or a USB security key as the second factor. Alternatively, provide a mobile number for a 2FA code and avoid using a primary email address to receive 2FA codes. If an email address is required, it is best to use an alternative email account.

LinkedIn Phishing Attacks on the Rise

by titanadmin | Nov 17, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

There has been an increase in LinkedIn phishing scams of late that attempt to trick professionals into installing malware, disclosing their login credentials, or providing sensitive information that can be used to create convincing spear phishing emails.

Watch Out for LinkedIn Phishing Attacks!

Many professionals rely on LinkedIn for getting new business and finding employment. The professional networking platform has proven to be incredibly popular and, being business-related, notifications from the platform are less likely to be turned off, as they often are with social media networks such as Facebook.

A notification from LinkedIn could be a prospective client, a potential job opportunity, or an opportunity to grow your network but LinkedIn notifications may not be what they seem.

Common LinkedIn Phishing Scams

LinkedIn phishing attacks can take many forms and are conducted to achieve a variety of objectives. One common denominator in LinkedIn phishing emails is the use of LinkedIn logos and color schemes to make it appear that the notifications are genuine.

One of the most common scams involves messages that appear to have been sent via the professional networking platform from an individual looking to do business with a company. The emails include buttons that appear at face value to direct a user to LinkedIn, yet the destination URL is different. The landing page displays the LinkedIn login box, which has been scraped from the genuine website. The scam aims to steal LinkedIn credentials, which can be used to hijack accounts and conduct scams on the user’s connections. These scams can be identified quite easily by checking the destination URL in the message before clicking. If a link is clicked, always check the URL in the address bar before attempting to log in to ensure you are on the genuine LinkedIn website.

There has been an uptick in another type of LinkedIn phishing scam of late. Standard LinkedIn email templates, such as information about the number of profile views a user has received and the number of searches they have appeared in are common. As with the previous scam, while the messages look genuine, the hyperlinks in the messages do not direct the user to the LinkedIn website, instead they direct them to URLs hosting phishing kits. The landing pages use a variety of ruses to get the user to disclose sensitive information. One common scam is an online survey that asks a series of questions to obtain information that can be used to create convincing spear phishing emails.

Scammers often create fake profiles in an attempt to trick platform users into thinking they are conversing with a genuine user. These profiles tend to be used in targeted attacks for cyberespionage purposes. These attacks often see the scammer engage in conversations with the targets to build trust, before tricking them into visiting a malicious website or opening an emailed document that installs malware. These scams can be more difficult to identify than the previous two scams, although there are clues that this is a scam. Always check the profile of any potential connection. Fake profiles often have incomplete or inconsistent information, suspiciously low numbers of connections, and odd connections given the individual’s claimed job. Even if the profile appears genuine, you should always be wary of any links or documents that are shared.

A Spam Filtering Solution Could be Your Savior!

Some of the scams are easy to identify, but many are very realistic and have convincing lures that can be difficult to distinguish from genuine emails. These scams fool many people into disclosing sensitive information or installing malware, even individuals who believe they are security-aware and would not be fooled by phishing scams. Vigilance is the key to identifying the scams but an advanced spam filtering solution will ensure that you are not troubled by these scam emails and phishing attempts.

Businesses that rely on the basic spam protections provided with the Microsoft 365 license should consider investing in a more advanced spam filtering solution, as many phishing emails bypass the Exchange Online Protection (EOP) mechanisms provided free with Microsoft 365 accounts.  For greater protection, consider a spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan, which augments Microsoft 365 defenses and will better protect you against phishing attacks.

For more information about SpamTitan and how it can protect you and your employees from phishing attacks, botnets, viruses, malware, and ransomware attacks, give the TitanHQ team a call or sign up for the free trial and find out for yourself the different SpamTitan makes.

Common Phishing Threats You Should be Aware of

by titanadmin | Sep 21, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

Phishing is one of the most common ways that cybercriminals gain access to networks to steal credentials and sensitive data, deploy malware, and conduct ransomware attacks. Phishing is most commonly conducted via email and uses deception and ‘social engineering’ to trick people into disclosing sensitive information or running code that downloads malicious software.

Phishing emails often impersonate trusted individuals or companies. The email addresses used to send these messages can appear legitimate, and the messages often include the logos and layouts of the genuine communications they spoof. The emails often include a hyperlink to a website where credentials are harvested. The online component of the phishing scam similarly spoofs a trusted entity and, in many campaigns, it is difficult to distinguish the phishing website from the genuine site being spoofed.

Phishing attacks are increasing and for one very simple reason. They work. Not only do these messages fool huge numbers of people, but they are also easy to conduct and there is little risk of phishers being caught. Even the Italian mafia and other organized crime operations have adopted phishing in addition to the standard protection rackets as a way to rake in money. This week, Europol announced it broke up an organized crime gang with links to the Italian mafia which had raked in €10 million in revenue from phishing and other online fraud scams in the past year.

Phishing Lures are Constantly Changing

The lures used in phishing scams are constantly evolving. While standard phishing campaigns involving fake invoices and resumes, missed deliveries, and fake account charge notifications are regularly used, topical lures related to news stories and COVID-19 are also thrown into the mix. The lures may change, but there are commonalities with these phishing scams that individuals should be able to recognize.

Phishing scams attempt to get the recipient to take a specific action, such as visiting a link in the email or opening an email attachment. There is usually a sense of urgency to get recipients to take prompt action, such as a threat of account closure or potential legal action. While suspicions may be raised by these messages, many people still take the requested action, either through fear of missing out or fear of negative repercussions if no action is taken.

It is best to adopt a mindset where every email received is potentially a phishing scam, and any request suggested in an email could well be a scam. Any email received that threatens account closure if no action is taken can easily be checked for legitimacy by logging in to the account via a web browser (never use the links in the email). If there is an unauthorized charge or a problem with the account, this will be clear when you log in.

If you receive a message from a company stating there is an unpaid invoice or an order has been made that is not recognized, search for the company online and use trusted contact information to verify the legitimacy of the email.

If you receive an email from your IT team telling you to install a program or take another action that seems suspicious, give the support desk a call to verify the legitimacy of the request.

Links in emails are the most common way to direct people to phishing web pages. You should always hover your mouse arrow over the link to check the true destination, and if the URL is not on an official domain, do not click.

Common Phishing Lures You Should Be Aware Of

• An email about a charge that has been applied to your account that has been flagged as suspicious and requires you to log in to block the charge
• An email threatening imminent account closure or loss of service if you do not take immediate action to correct the issue
• An email from law enforcement threatening arrest or legal action for a crime you are alleged to have committed
• An email from the IRS or another tax authority offering a refund as you have overpaid tax or legal action over nonpayment of tax
• An email with an invoice for a product or service you have not purchased
• An email telling you malware has been detected on your computer that requires a software download to remove it
• An email with a link that requires you to provide credentials to view content or confirm your identity by verifying your credit/debit card number.

If you receive any message, the important thing is to stop and think before taking any action and to carefully assess the legitimacy of the request.

Spam Software will Block the Majority of Phishing Emails

One of the best ways that businesses can improve email security is to implement an advanced spam filtering solution. SpamTitan provides protection against phishing and other malicious emails using a wide range of tools that include machine learning to identify suspicious messages, email sandboxing, dual anti-virus engines, greylisting, and malicious link detection mechanisms. SpamTitan will ensure that malicious messages are not delivered to end users where they can be clicked. When combined with security awareness training to teach cybersecurity best practices, businesses can mount a formidable defense against phishers.

To find out more about how you can protect against phishing and other malicious emails, give the TitanHQ team a call. SpamTitan is available on a free trial, product demonstrations can be arranged on request, and you may be surprised to discover how little it costs to improve protection against all types of email attacks.

Sneaky Tactics Used in Two Ongoing Phishing Campaigns Targeting User Credentials

by titanadmin | Aug 18, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

New phishing campaigns are constantly being launched that impersonate trusted companies, organizations, and individuals, and use social engineering techniques to trick end users into divulging sensitive information such as their email credentials. Two such phishing campaigns have recently been discovered that use sneaky tactics to fool the unwary.

Sneaky Tactics Used to Obtain Office 365 Credentials

Organizations using Office 365 are being targeted in a sneaky phishing campaign that has been ongoing for several months. The phishing campaign incorporates a range of measures to fool end users and email security solutions. The goal of the campaign is to steal Office 365 credentials.

The phishing emails are sent from believable email addresses with spoofed display names to make the sender appear legitimate. The campaign targets specific organizations and uses believable usernames and domains for sender display names related to the target and the messages also include genuine logos for the targeted company and Microsoft branding.

The messages use believable Microsoft SharePoint lures to trick end users into clicking an embedded hyperlink and visiting the phishing URL. Recipients of the messages are informed that a colleague has sent a file-share request that they may have missed, along with a link directing the recipient to a webpage hosting a fake Microsoft Office 365 login box.

To encourage users to click, the emails suggest the shared file contains information about bonuses, staff reports, or price books. The phishing emails include two URLs with malformed HTTP headers. The primary phishing URL is for a Google storage resource which points to an AppSpot domain. If the user signs in, they are served a Google User Content domain with an Office 365 phishing page. The second URL is embedded in the notification settings and links to a compromise SharePoint site, which again requires the user to sign in to get to the final page.

To fool email security solutions, the messages use extensive obfuscation and encryption for file types often associated with malicious messages, including JavaScript, in addition to multi-layer obfuscation in HTML. The threat actors have used old and unusual encryption methods, including the use of morse code to hide segments of the HTML used in the attack. Some of the code segments used in the campaign reside in several open directories and are called by encoded scripts. Microsoft researchers discovered and tracked the campaign and likened it to a jigsaw puzzle, where all the pieces look harmless individually and only reveal their malicious nature when correctly pieced together.

This campaign is particularly sneaky, with the threat actor having gone to great lengths to fool both end users and security solutions.

FINRA Impersonated in Phishing Campaign

A new phishing campaign has recently been detected that impersonates the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In this campaign, cyber threat actors have used domains that mimic FINRA, which are close enough to the genuine finra.org domain to fool unsuspecting individuals into disclosing sensitive information.

The phishing emails have been sent from three fraudulent domains: finrar-reporting.org, finpro-finrar.org, and gateway2-finra.org. The use of hyphens in phishing domains is very common, and it is often enough to trick people into thinking the site is a subdomain of the official website that the campaign mimics.

The emails ask the recipients to click a link in the email to “view request.” If the link is clicked, the users are prompted to then provide information to complete the request. As is typical in phishing campaigns, there is a threat should no action be taken, which in this case is “late submission may attract financial penalties.”

The financial services regulator has taken steps to take down these fraudulent domains, but it is likely that the threat actor will continue using other lookalike domains. Similar domains were used in the campaign spoofing FINRA earlier this year, including finra-online.com and gateway-finra.org.

These campaign highlights the need for security awareness training, an advanced email security solution, and other anti-phishing measures such as a web filter.

If you are concerned about your cybersecurity defenses and want to block threats such as these, give the TitanHQ team a call for advice on security solutions that can be easily implemented to block phishing and other email threats to improve your security posture and prevent costly data breaches.

ZLoader Banking Trojan Distributed in Phishing Campaign That Disables Office Macro Warnings

by titanadmin | Jul 30, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

One of the most common ways for malware to be distributed is in phishing emails. These emails usually require some user interaction, such as clicking on a link and opening an attached Microsoft Office file. Word and Excel files are often used in malware distribution, with macros used to deliver the malicious payload.

Macros are potentially dangerous as they can contain malicious code, so they are usually disabled by default and will only be allowed to run if they are manually enabled by the end user.  When an Office file is opened which contains a macro, a warning message will appear instructing the user that there is a macro and that it is potentially malicious. If the macro is not manually enabled by the end user, malware cannot be downloaded.

A phishing campaign has recently been detected that is typical of most phishing campaigns distributing malware. The initial attack vector is a phishing email, and Office files are used which contain macros that download the malware payload – in this case ZLoader. However, a novel method is used to deliver the malicious Office files that disables to usual macro warnings and protection mechanism.

In this campaign, malicious DLLs – Zloader malware – are delivered as the payload, but the initial phishing email does not contain the malicious code. The phishing email has a Microsoft Word attachment which will trigger the download of a password-protected Excel spreadsheet from the attacker’s remote server when the file is opened and macros are enabled.

The attack relies on Microsoft Word Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) fields of Microsoft Excel, and is effective on systems that support the legacy .xls file format.

Once the encrypted Excel file is downloaded, Word VBA-based instructions in the document read the cell contents from the specially crafted XLS file. Word VBS then writes the cell contents into XLS VBA to create a new macro for the XLS file. When the macros are ready, Excel macro defenses are disabled by the Word document by setting the policy in the registry to Disable Excel Macro Warning. The Excel VBA is then run and downloads the malicious DLL files, which are executed using rundll32.exe.

While the malicious files will be silently downloaded and executed, this attack still requires the victim to enable macros in the initial Word document. Victims are tricked into doing this by telling them “This document created in previous version of Microsoft Office Word. To view or edit this document, please click ‘Enable editing’ button on the top bar, and then click ‘Enable content’,” when they open the Word file. That one click will start the entire infection chain.

ZLoader is a variant of the infamous Zeus banking Trojan, which first appeared in 2006. The malware is also known by the name ZBot and Silent Night and is used by multiple threat groups. The malware was used in large scale campaigns in 2020 using COVID-19 themed lures, such as COVID-19 prevention tips, along with more standard lures such as job applications.

Once installed, the malware uses webinjects to steal passwords, login credentials and browser cookies. When an infected computer is used to access online banking and financial accounts, banking information and other sensitive data are stolen and exfiltrated to the attacker’s C2 server.

If you want to improve your defenses against malware and phishing, give the TitanHQ team a call and enquire about SpamTitan Email Security and WebTitan Web Security. These solutions can both be downloaded, configured, and protecting you from the full range of web and email threats in under an hour, and both are available on a no obligation 14-day free trial so you can see for yourself how easy they are to use and how effective they are at blocking threats before making a purchase decision.

Mac Users Targeted in Phishing Campaign Distributing XLoader Malware

by titanadmin | Jul 29, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

Apple Mac users are comparatively safe when it comes to malware as most malware variants target Windows users; however, the number of malware variants targeting Mac users has been increasing. When there is a very low risk of a malware infection, it is easy to become complacent, but threats do come along so it is important to remain on one’s guard.

That is especially true now as a new malware threat has been discovered and Mac users are in the attackers’ crosshairs. Further, this is not some half-baked malware. This is a very serious threat. This new malware variant is very malicious, very dangerous, and it has been getting past Apple Mac security defenses.

The threat is more likely to be familiar to Windows users, as it is them who have previously been targeted; however, the malware has now jumped platforms and is being used to target Mac users. The malware is a new variant of FormBook malware. FormBook malware is a well-known commercially available malware that has been around since 2016. The malware, which was rebranded as XLoader last year, is sold as-a-service on hacking forums and is usually delivered via malicious attachments in emails – often PowerPoint documents. The malware has been developed to log keystrokes and, as the name suggests, grab data from online forms when input by users. It can also steal data from instant messenger apps, email clients, and FTP clients. In the latter half of 2020, attacks involving the malware increased substantially, and during the first 6 months of 2021 it has been prolific.

The Apple version of the malware similarly has a wide range of malicious capabilities. It will harvest credentials from web browsers, steal form data, take screenshots, monitor and log keystrokes, and can also download and execute files from the attackers’ C2 servers. The malware also incorporates several features to resist attempts at reverse engineering.

The Mac version of XLoader is under active development and it is likely that throughout the remainder of 2021 it will grow into an even bigger threat. Already, this version is able to move much deeper into systems and move much faster.

Mac users may be complacent as they are not often targeted, but this is not due to Macs being harder to attack. Malware developers simply choose to target Windows devices as there are many more users that can be targeted. Fewer Mac users mean the potential profits from attacks will be lower, but attacks are growing and the complacency of Mac users works to the advantage of attackers. It makes it easier to get their malware installed as users are not anticipating threats. A much broader range of threat actors will be able to use the latest XLoader version and target Mac users, as they can simply pay a licensing fee and use it under the malware-as-a-serve model. That fee can be as low as $69.

As with the Windows campaigns, XLoader is primarily delivered via phishing emails, mostly using malicious Microsoft Office documents. Check Point says it has tracked infections in 69 countries, although the majority of infected devices are in the United States.

Since the malware can bypass Mac security defenses, it is important to check whether it has already been installed by looking for suspicious filenames in the LaunchAgents directory in the library, which is normally hidden from view. While various different file names have been used, an example of XLoader is com.wznlVRt83Jsd.HPyT0b4Hwxh.plist.

Blocking attacks is actually straightforward. Antivirus software should be installed and kept up to date, and businesses should implement a spam filtering solution such as SpamTitan to block the malicious emails that deliver the malware. End users should also exercise caution opening emails and should never open attachments or click links in emails from unknown sources or click unsolicited links in messaging apps.

MSPs Targeted in Phishing Campaign Using Fake Kaseya Update to Deliver Cobalt Strike

by titanadmin | Jul 9, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

On July 2, 2021, IT management software provider Kaseya suffered a ransomware attack that impacted its managed service provider (MSP) customers. Ransomware was pushed out to users of the Kaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) platform through the software update mechanism and, through them, to MSP clients. Kaspersky Lab said it found evidence of around 5,000 attempts to infect systems with ransomware across 22 countries in the first 3 days since the attack was identified. Kaseya recently said it believes around 1,500 of its direct customers and downstream businesses were affected.

The attackers exploited vulnerabilities in the KSA platform that had been reported to Kaseya by the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD) in April. Kaseya had issued updates to fix four of the seven reported vulnerabilities in April and May and was working on patches to fix the remaining three flaws. One of those flaws, CVE-2021-30116, was a credential leaking flaw which was exploited by the REvil ransomware gang before the patch was released.

Kaseya detected the attack quickly and was able to implement mitigations that limited the extent of the attacks. the steps taken by Kaseya have been effective at blocking any further attacks, customers are now at risk from Kaseya phishing campaigns.

Cybercriminals have started conducting phishing campaigns targeting Kaseya customers pushing Cobalt Strike payloads disguised as Kaseya VSA security updates. Cobalt Strike is a legitimate penetration testing and threat emulation tool, but it is also extensively used by hackers and ransomware gangs to gain remote access to business networks.

The campaign was first detected by the Threat intelligence team at Malwarebytes. The emails contain an attachment named SecurityUpdates.exe and a hyperlink that claims to provide a Microsoft update to fix the Kaseya vulnerability exploited by the ransomware gang.

Users are told to open the attached file or click the link in the email to update the Kaseya VSA to protect against ransomware attacks but doing so delivers Cobalt Strike beacons and will give attackers persistent access to victims’ networks.

Since Kaseya is working on a patch to fix the flaw exploited in the attack, customers will be expecting a security update and may be fooled into installing the fake update.

Kaseya has issued a warning to all customers telling them not to open any attachments or click links in emails that claim to provide updates for the Kaseya VSA. Kaseya said any future email updates it sends to customers will not include any hyperlinks or attachments.

A similar campaign was conducted following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. The emails claimed to provide system updates to detect and block ransomware attacks.

Any email received that claims to offer a security update should be treated as suspicious. Do not click links in those emails or open attachments, instead visit the software vendor’s official website to check for security updates that have been released.

How to Improve Your Defenses Against Business Email Compromise Attacks

by titanadmin | Jun 27, 2021 | Email Scams, Phishing & Email Spam |

The recent TitanHQ/Osterman Research survey of IT security professionals showed the most common security incidents experienced by businesses were business email compromise (BEC) attacks. A BEC attack is where a cybercriminal spoofs a trusted contact or company, usually to trick an employee into making a fraudulent wire transfer, send sensitive data via email, or obtain money by other means.

In a BEC attack, the attacker usually spoofs an email account or website or uses a genuine, trusted email account that has previously been compromised in a phishing attack. If a compromised email account is not used, an individual is usually spoofed by changing the display name to make it appear that the email has been sent by a genuine contact, often the CEO, CFO, or a vendor.

It is also common for lookalike domains to be used in BEC attacks. The attacker discovers the spoofed company’s format for email accounts, and copies that format using a domain that very closely resembles the genuine domain used by that company. At first glance, the spoofed domain appears perfectly legitimate.

BEC attacks are usually highly targeted. An email is carefully crafted to target an individual within an organization or a person in a particular role. Since many attacks attempt to get employees to make fraudulent wire transfers, it is most common for individuals in the finance department to be targeted, although BEC attackers also commonly target the HR department, marketing department, IT department, and executives.

Since the requests in the emails are plausible and the message format, signatures, and branding are often copied from genuine emails, the BEC emails can be very convincing. It is also not uncommon for the attacks to involve conversations that span multiple messages before the attacker makes a request.

While phishing attacks are more common, losses to BEC attacks are far greater. According to FBI figures, BEC attacks are the leading cause of losses to cybercrime.

Defending against BEC attacks requires a combination of measures. Naturally, since these attacks target employees, it is important to raise awareness of the threat and teach employees how to identify a BEC attack. Policies and procedures should also be implemented that require any email request to change bank account details, payment methods, or make changes to direct deposit information for payroll to be verified using trusted contact information. A quick telephone call could easily thwart an attack.

While these measures are important, the best defense is to prevent BEC emails from reaching end users’ inboxes as that eliminates the potential for human error. For that you need to have solid email security. A good email security solution will block attempts to steal email credentials – the precursor to many BEC attacks.  An advanced spam filtering solution that incorporates machine learning techniques can detect and block zero-day attacks – the tailored, often unique messages that are used by the attackers to target individuals. Solutions that incorporate DMARC and sender policy framework (SPF) will help to detect emails from individuals not authorized to send messages from a particular domain – A vital protection against BEC attacks.

SpamTitan incorporates all of those measures – and more – to keep businesses protected. When combined with end user training and administrative measures, businesses can greatly improve their defenses against BEC attacks. For more information on how SpamTitan can protect your business from the full range of email attacks, give the TitanHQ team a call today.

You can also find out about other measures you can implement to block phishing and ransomware attacks at the upcoming TitanHQ webinar on June 30, 2021 – How to Reduce the Risk of Phishing and Ransomware. During the webinar – hosted by TitanHQ and Osterman Research – you will discover the results of the latest TitanHQ survey of security professionals and gain valuable insights into how you can improve your cybersecurity posture.

You can REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE.