Last week the internet security firm Kaspersky Lab released a report on a highly-successful group of cybercriminals who targeted banks and may have stolen up to a billion across 100 financial institutions worldwide. While Kaspersky Labs did not name the victimized organizations, the report indicates they were mostly located in China, Russia and the United States. The attacks included a lengthy reconnaissance phase, with the criminals masquerading as legitimate users for long periods of time. The FBI and Secret Service said the U.S. financial system has not been affected, so perhaps the criminals were uncovered before they could strike.[1]
The malware the cyber criminals used, opened a back door into the company’s computer networks, allowing them access to learn the organizations’ systems. It even gave the hackers the ability to monitor webcams and embedded cameras in laptops to conduct long-term observation of employees. Once the criminals were familiar with the network, they were able to steal money in a variety of different ways depending on the organization. With some banks, they manipulated ATM machines to dispense cash at predetermined times, which were then picked up by money mules. At others, they artificially inflated the balance on legitimate accounts, then transferred the money to other banks in a different country.
As sophisticated and patient as they were, the hackers relied on email spear phishing to launch the initial phase of their attack. It’s an old-school technique favored by hackers because it works.
What is Spear Phishing?
Have you ever gotten an email asking you to “verify” your bank, eBay or PayPal account? Those emails are a form of phishing. When you click on a link in the email, it takes you to a web page that looks very much like the real thing, but is run by criminals attempting to steal your information.
Spear phishing works much the same way, except the emails are targeted toward a specific person or small group of people instead of broadcast to thousands. In today’s world of social media, it’s not difficult for criminals to find the names and email addresses of people within an organization. Once they have the person’s name and email address, the criminals simply write a convincing email that supposedly came from their boss or the company CEO. They attach the malware and instruct the employee to open the attachment in the message.
In this case, some of the emails were sent from compromised employee accounts. Once the bank employee opened the attachment, the embedded malware used a vulnerability in certain versions of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word to infect the users’ computer.
How Can You Prevent Spear Phishing in Your Organization?
Instruct employees not to open email attachments they were not expecting, no matter who the message comes from. If an employee receives an email with a suspicious attachment from someone they know, have them double-check with the supposed sender before they open it.
Always install security updates and patches to computer operating systems and the programs your organization uses as soon as possible. In many cases, your IT staff can push updates out to computers on the network remotely.
[1] http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/18/uk-cybersecurity-banks-idUKKBN0LM26120150218
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