Spear phishing attacks are targeted at specific individuals, whereas general phishing attacks are usually sent to masses of emails simultaneously in the hopes that someone takes the bait. Company Registration Number:11208508. 47% of Spear Phishing attacks lasted less than 24 hours. Twitter said its staff were targeted through their phones. Barracuda researchers have seen a steady increase in the number of coronavirus COVID-19-related spear-phishing attacks since January, but they have observed a recent spike in this type of attack, up 667-percent since the end of February. In 2015, this company handed over more than $40 million in a spear phishing scam involving CEO fraud. VAT Reg.299747227, Researchers: Fraudsters’ Domains Created to Steal Office 365 Credentials, SolarWinds Breach: ‘The Scale, the Scope, the Subtlety’, Information Security Policies & Standards, Security Awareness Training – Rebranded Security Training, All Security Design and Architectural Services, Security Appliance Design and Configuration, Penetration Testing – Our Penetration Test Services, Database Security – Databases and Repositories, Third-Party and Supplier Assurance Services, Third and Supplier Party Assurance Methodology, Third and Supplier Party Assurance Review, Rapid Digitization and Risk: A Roundtable Preview. Fallout from Recent Spear Phishing Attacks? Spear phishing may involve tricking you into logging into fake sites and divulging credentials. A spear-phishing campaign detected earlier this month that uses messages that appear to originate with legitimate companies is targeting enterprise users in an effort to steal Microsoft Office 365 credentials, according to a report from Abnormal Security. In this article, we discuss the essential characteristics of a spear-phishing e-mail and different categories of recent spear-phishing attacks. Get monthly content to keep you up to date on the latest news and tips. In addition to this campaign, Abnormal Security researchers uncovered a separate phishing email attack also designed to steal Office 365 credentials. In the campaign that the Abnormal Security researchers uncovered, the fraudsters appear to have compromised hundreds of legitimate accounts to help craft realistic-looking emails. If the phishing email is opened, the user is presented with a “View Documents” link embedded in the message. The Abnormal Security report notes that many of the phishing emails in this campaign impersonate legitimate businesses and services and originate from compromised accounts, which the researchers did not list publicly. McDonald’s and Walgreens this week revealed that data breaches at partner marketing firms had exposed customer information. In November, Microsoft’s Security Intelligence team warned Office 365 users about a phishing campaign that appeared to be harvesting victims’ credentials (see: Microsoft Warns of Office 365 Phishing Attacks). Ubiquiti Networks Inc. “While this may seem counterintuitive on the attackers’ part to send an eFax notification from an unrelated compromised account, it’s a clever tactic by the attackers and problematic for the organization because compromise attacks will bypass traditional threat intelligence-based solutions,” the Abnormal Security researchers say. While phishing and spear phishing attacks are similar, there are many key differences to be aware of. Spear-phishing is a targeted attack designed to trick people into handing out information such as passwords. The Daily Swig offers coverage of the latest phishing scams and recent phishing attacks, helping organizations to stay ahead of the threat. The phishing emails typically contain an embedded link that leads the user to what the researchers call “never-seen-before Microsoft Office 365 spear-phishing pages hosted on legitimate digital publishing sites such as Joom, Weebly and Quip.” So far, hundreds of these domains have been detected, according to the report. Smishing. Security researchers discovered that an APT group known as “Silent Librarian” is actively targeting universities with spear phishing attacks. a targeted attempt to steal sensitive information such as account credentials or financial information from a specific victim, Spear phishing attempts targeting businesses. Barracuda researchers have seen a steady increase in the number of coronavirus or COVID-19-related spear-phishing attacks since January 2020, but they have observed a recent spike in this type of attack, up 667-percent since the end of February 2020. According to the FBI, phishing was the most common type of cybercrime in 2020—and phishing incidents nearly doubled in frequency, from 114,702 incidents in 2019, to 241,324 incidents in 2020.. The FBI said there were more than 11 times as many phishing complaints in 2020 compared to 2016.. … The phishing emails typically contain an embedded link that leads the user to what the researchers call “never-seen-before Microsoft Office 365 spear-phishing pages hosted on legitimate digital publishing sites such as Joom, Weebly and Quip.” So far, hundreds … Cybercriminals, hacktivists, and nation-state spy agencies have all been known to deploy the latest phishing attacks. A phishing campaign is very broad and automated, think 'spray and pray'. A recent spear-phishing campaign is actively targeting Microsoft Office 365 users in an effort to steal user credentials, while another is spoofing … See all the new cybersecurity details for yourself, including the latest tactics used by scammers and the best practices to defend against evolving threats: How attackers are quickly adapting to current events and using new tricks to successfully execute spear phishing, business email compromise, pandemic-related scams, and other attacks Spear Phishing. Example of a phishing email (Source: Abnormal Security). For Q3 2019, the APWG detected 266,387 phishing sites — up 46% from Q2, and nearly double the number detected in Q4 2018. Just consider some of these alarming statistics: 77% of the Spear Phishing attacks are laser-focused – targeting only 10 E-Mail inboxes, and only 33% of them focused upon just one E-Mail inbox. With spear phishing, thieves typically target select groups of people who have one thing in common. Scammers are targeting businesses all the time, but here are a few examples of some high-profile attacks. If clicked, the second link directs the victim to the final phishing domain and asks the user to input their Office 365 credentials, which are then harvested by the fraudsters. Cybercriminals, hacktivists, and nation-state spy agencies have all been known to deploy the latest phishing attacks. With the amount of personal information the average person puts online, beginning a spear phishing campaign is becoming easier every day. What's more, a successful attack can allow a hacker the ability to gain even more data about a person, thereby allowing them to potentially ensnare other people in this victim's life. Spear phishing is on the rise because it works. Phishing attacks are getting harder to spot, especially as more attackers realize the value of targeted, well-crafted phishing attacks, according to Johannes Ullrich, the dean of research at the SANS Technology Institute. written by Unallocated Author July 22, 2018 Spear Phishing is a targeted form of phishing attack where attackers acquire useful information about the victim through research, social engineering and other means. Spear phishing is a targeted phishing attack that involves highly customized lure content. This page requires JavaScript for an enhanced user experience. Phishing Sites Hit a 3-Year High. This most recent spear-phishing attack is a reflection of attackers continuing to use innovative lures to convince victims to click on malicious links or attachments. If you’re wondering about which … Registered office address: 27 Old Gloucester Street, Holborn, London, Malwarebytes learned in mid-September that Silent Librarian, also known as “TA407” and “COBALT DICKENS,” had launched a new attack campaign. They have been more successful since receiving email from the legitimate email accounts does not make people suspicious. The hackers choose to target customers, vendors who have been the victim of other data breaches. The company maintained large databases of … Phishing involves tricking a target into submitting their ID, password, or payment card data to an attacker. The same survey also indicates that 86% of respondents reported dealing with business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Traditional security … Phishing involves tricking a target into submitting their ID, password, or payment card data to an attacker. With 83% of Global Security Respondents reporting experiencing phishing attacks in 2018, it is time to draw the red line. Login credentials for online banking, webmail, or e-commerce sites are among the potential targets. If security tools detect a phishing email that is part of the campaign, the fraudsters deploy a script that will change the address of the impersonated sender and the attacks can continue. “The reason the bypass works is because the compromised email addresses are known and trusted by the organization based on prior and legitimate communications.”. People in Saudi Arabia are most likely to receive malicious emails. Attackers will typically do reconnaissance work by surveying social media and other information sources about their intended target. The latest estimate from ProofPoint’s State of the Phish 2020 report indicates that nearly 90% surveyed organizations faced spear phishing attacks in 2019. Login credentials for online banking, webmail, or e-commerce sites are among the potential targets. In 2009, the FBI called Operation Phish Phry the largest international phishing … The latest Phishing Activity Trends Report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) noted a significant increase in the number of unique phishing websites. Vishing isn’t the only type of phishing that digital fraudsters can perpetrate using a phone. The Trends. One example of the latest spear-phishing attacks on legitimate infrastructure found by SlashNext Threat Labs in late January 2021 was a 2FA attack. Criminals are using breached accounts. Some of the most notorious cyber crimes in recent history — such as the attacks on major banks, media companies and even security firms — started with just one person clicking on a spear-phishing email. Crelan Bank was taken for $75.8M. In the case of the eFax email, the fraudsters appear to use legitimate logos and artwork from the company, and the message even contains language about how users can switch plans or email for help. 2015-2019 All Rights Reserved. Spear phishing. The use of the compromised email accounts to send these messages is a way to bypass security tools and filters, such as secure email gateways. © Copyright ITSecurity.Org Ltd This leads to a domain hosted on the Joom, Weebly or Quip landing page, and the victim is then asked to click another link. Ullrich recently joined the CyberWire to discuss a recent spate of spearphishing attacks targeting the financial industry. In addition, spear phishing attacks can deploy malware to hijack computers, organizing them into enormous networks called botnets that can be used for denial of service attacks. On January 19, 2016, this Dutch Bank released a statement (pdf, … The frequency of phishing attacks. In this case, the emails appeared to originate with the victim’s IT department and asked about migrating to a new Outlook version (see: Phishing Campaign Uses Outlook Migration Message). … In the corporate environment, one of the biggest spear phishing attacks was that on email marketing services company Epsilon back in 2011. It doesn't take a lot of skill to execute a massive phishing campaign. See Also: Rapid Digitization and Risk: A Roundtable Preview. Operation Phish Phry. Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Social Engineering, Researchers: Fraudsters’ Domains Created to Steal Office 365 Credentials Prajeet Nair (@prajeetspeaks) • December 16, 2020, Malicious domain designed to look like an Office 365 logon page (Source: Abnormal Security). 27 Old Gloucester Street, Holborn, London, United Kingdom, WC1N 3AX. “The attacker attempts to legitimize the campaign with official-looking landing pages similar to those used by eFax,” according to the report. This example of an attack on a Canadian bank that brought down all its systems and stopped work is petrifying. In one case, the malicious messages impersonated eFax, an online fax service, and the messages included personalized “Doc Delivery” notifications to entice victims to click. “The widespread use of hundreds of compromised accounts and never-seen-before URLs indicate the campaign is designed to bypass traditional threat intelligence solutions accustomed to permitting known but compromised accounts into the inbox,” according to the Abnormal Security report. The Most Recent Spear Phishing Attack That Crippled A Canadian Bank With the alarming figures, it is not surprising to note that spear-phishing attacks are very rampant in today’s cyber world. Here are some examples of successful spear phishing attacks. United Kingdom, WC1N 3AX. [email protected] In this article, we examine the recent trends of Spear Phishing attacks. The number of worldwide phishing attacks detected by Kaspersky hit 129.9 million during the second quarter of 2019, according to a new report from the security vendor. The spoofed Chase Bank 2FA authentication page was hosted on legitimate infrastructure on Doster.com, a web hosting offering for small businesses with additional business services. Phishing attacks are on a rising spree since the organizations made a switch to digital forms of communication. 0800 0119 828 / 01606 642307 Spear-phishing attacks are becoming more dangerous than other phishing attack vectors. Phishing vs. To fight spear phishing scams, employees need to be aware of the threats, such as the possibility of bogus emails landing in their inbox. Dealing with business email compromise ( BEC ) attacks different categories of recent spear-phishing attacks are becoming more than., the user is presented with a “ View Documents ” link embedded the. 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