Phishing typically involves both social engineering and technical trickery to deceive victims into opening attached files, clicking on embedded links and revealing sensitive information. Using a combination of industryleading technology, threat intelligence and security expertise, fireeye can help identify. Using a combination of industryleading technology, threat intelligence and. Aug 07, 2015 unlike traditional phishing scams, spoofed emails used in ceo fraud schemes are unlikely to set off spam traps, because these are targeted phishing scams that are not mass emailed. Dragonfly sent pdf documents over email which contained links to malicious sites and downloads. Classic phishing campaigns send mass emails to as many people as possible, but spear phishing is much more targeted. Spear phishing is a common type of cyber attack in which attackers take a narrow focus and craft detailed, targeted email messages to a specific recipient or group. For example, a spearphishing email may have a pdf file thats actually an. Spearphishing attacks are being used against large corporations and governments to access their internal networks. This rep ort ta kes an i ndepth lo ok at the th ree most preva lent t ypes of attack s. Spearphishing emails can have attachments of varying file types.
Phishing is a broader term for any attempt to trick victims into sharing sensitive information such as passwords, usernames, and credit card details for malicious reasons. Unlike traditional phishing scams, spoofed emails used in ceo fraud schemes are unlikely to set off spam traps, because these are targeted phishing scams that are not mass emailed. These attacks open the door for further infiltration into any network the victim can access. Taxonomy of methods, current issues and future directions 1b. A spear phishing attack typically employs a group of zombies to keep the target so busy responding to a stream of automated requests that legitimate users cannot access the target. The emails asked recipients to reset their passwords and provided a link to do so. Spearphishers research individual marks and craft personalized messages that appear to. The average impact of a successful spear phishing attack. Taxonomy of phishing attacks is then discussed in section iii.
Todays scam artists have now turned to a more sophisticated, targeted, and profitable version of the scam, known as spear phishing. Vulnerabilities of healthcare information technology systems. Oct 24, 2019 spear phishing can easily be confused with phishing because they are both online attacks on users that aim to acquire confidential information. In a targeted attack on our sales team, we received an email via wetransfer with a companys new sales brochure. An easy to use the script for all the complicated tasks of making a phishing page and setting it up to social engineer a victim. Spear phishing attack an overview sciencedirect topics.
Phishing occurs when a criminal sends an email impersonating a financial institution, government agency, or reputable company and asks the recipient to verify their personal or financial information. Mar 15, 2017 for more on how to avoid phishing attacks, we also suggest reading dont fall for phishing and spearphishing. The hacker has either a certain individuals or organization they want to compromise and. Top spear phishing keywords used in attacks fireeye. While email remains the preferred medium to conduct spearphishing attacks, social media has opened up new attack vectors for politically. One user reported receiving one of these, with the from address spoofed as coming form their own attorney. The attack starts with an email from an external business partner, whose account had been compromised. The attachment is often a common file format zip, rtf, doc, xls with an embedded executable or exploit that serves to provide the attacker a foothold in the environment. Spear phishing emails target a single person or a small group within an organization. When they open it, they click on the wrong link and they are sent to a web site which is going to infect their computer.
The scammer sends an email to an employee at the company, often from a hacked or spoofed email address or an address that closely resembles the companys email format. Most phishing scammers cast a wide net, sending out generic mass emails in hopes of snaring a few victims. According to the sans institute, 95% of enterprise network attacks involve successful spear phishing attempts. Aug 09, 2019 the phishing site then captures the sensitive information as soon as the user provides it, giving attackers access to the information. Most favored apt attack bait spearphishing attack ingredients the email in a spearphishing attack, a target recipient is lured to either download a seemingly harmless file attachment or to click a link to a malware or an exploitladen site. Spear phishing message an overview sciencedirect topics. The file, often a vulnerability exploit, installs a malware. What is spear phishing with examples and how can you avoid it. A file with a title interesting to the victim, but containing malware phase 4.
The frequency of phishing and spear phishing attacks how phishing is impacting organizations how organizations are using security awareness training tools to manage enduser risk application of consequence models and escalation paths we also take a high. Spear phishing the office of attorney general keith ellison. The average impact of a successful spearphishing attack. These types of spearphishing attacks, designed to impersonate wellknown. Some one uploaded a pdf file on our secure server for your view only. The hacker has either a certain individuals or organization they want to compromise and are after more valuable info than credit card data.
Spear phishing is usually a much more narrowly aimed attack to try to get specific information from a specific group of individuals. The success of a spear phishing attack relies heavily on the criminals ability to. Microsoft sway abused in perswaysion spearphishing operation. Jan 16, 2017 the new attack uses the file names of sent attachments and applies that name into new attachments that appear to be pdfs but are actually images that, when clicked, send victims to phishing pages. Spearphishing attachment is a specific variant of spearphishing. Spear phishing is a phishing method that targets specific individuals or groups within an organization. Spear phishing emails will appear as a common file type such as. Defending against phishing attacks taxonomy of methods. A phishing email might include an attachment or a link or request personal information. Spear phishing is a very common form of attack on businesses too. In contrast, spear phishing is a targeted phishing attack. There are active phishing campaigns both using fake docusign and secure adobe pdf attachments trying to trap employees into opening them up.
For more on how to avoid phishing attacks, we also suggest reading dont fall for phishing and spearphishing. In contrast, spearphishing is a targeted phishing attack. Attachments contained within spear phishing emails will appear as a common file type such as. Plant malware on the victims computer in some examples of spear phishing, the cybercriminal simply entices the victim to fill out a web form with confidential information like account number, social security number or.
People often share workrelated files via email, so the inclusion of an attachment isnt likely to. This paper describes how spear phishing attacks work, the likelihood of being. The emails have well written titles, and look like they pertain to you. The following sections outline the various types of spear phishing attacks, what can. Spearphishers research individual marks and craft personalized messages that appear to come from trusted sources. Some specific types of phishing scams use more targeted methods to attack certain individuals or organizations. A benign pdf file is attached and nothing is spoofed, so automated detection systems remain. The sans bulletin said that the email has the subject line assessment document and the body contains a single pdf attachment that claims to be locked. Psannis 1department of computer engineering, national institute of technology kurukshetra, india 2australian centre for cyber security accs, the university of new south wales australian defence force academy, po box 7916, canberra bc act. This requires the attacker to research their target to find important details that can give their messages a thin veneer of plausibilityall in the hopes of fooling and ensnaring a valuable target. Phishing is one of the oldest methods used for hacking social media and bank accounts. An example of a spear phishing attack was made public by mcafees computer security research lab in which an email was purportedly sent by the united state sic tax court, which claimed that the commissioner of internal revenue had brought a law suit against the potential victims. What is spear phishing, and how does it take down big. It is a potent variant of phishing, a malicious tactic which uses emails, social media, instant messaging, and other platforms to get users to divulge personal information or perform actions that cause network compromise, data loss, or financial loss.
Wednesday jan 4th, the sans internet storm center warned about an active phishing campaign that has malicious pdf attachments in a new scam to steal email credentials. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Microsoft warns of emails bearing crafty pdf phishing scams. Sep 15, 2019 phishing is one of the oldest methods used for hacking social media and bank accounts.
Email attack is the preferred method for many hackers a cybercriminal sends an email that attempts to fraudulently acquire the recipients personal information or deliver malware. Sep 22, 2016 a scammer could also attach a dangerous file thats disguised to look like a harmless file. We found that the most commonly used and shared file types in organizations e. There is a phishing attack going on you need to know about. According to trend micros research, 94% of spearphishing emails use malicious file attachments. The second attack began in the spring of 2016 and also used a spear phishing campaign. Spear phishing occurs when a scammer poses as a company representative, often an executive or human resources representative. A pdf file can be used in two different ways to perform a phishing attack.
A spear phishing attack is an attempt to acquire sensitive information or access to a computer system by sending counterfeit messages that appear to be legitimate. En espanol spearphishing is a highly targeted, particularly destructive form of phishing. Attackers search a number of sources to deduce an employees job function and what companies, individuals, or groups they associate with in order to create a believable attack. Email attack is the preferred method for many hackers a cybercriminal sends an email that attempts to fraudulently acquire the recipients personal information. A spearphishing attempt is often part of a blended attack that uses a combination of email, internet browsing and file shares. A scammer could also attach a dangerous file thats disguised to look like a harmless file. Apr 30, 2020 the attack starts with an email from an external business partner, whose account had been compromised. You can either set the pdf to look like it came from an official institution and have people open up the file. Because its so targeted, spear phishing is arguably the most dangerous type of phishing attack. However, instead of embedding malicious links into the emails, it tricked users into sharing their passwords. Spear phishing is a more sinister type of phishing that uses email messages that appear to come from wellknown and trusted sources. Attackers will often gather information about their targets to fill emails with more authentic context.
What is spear phishing with examples and how can you. Spearphishing attachment, technique t1193 enterprise. A typical attack scenario a common tactic used in spear phishing campaigns is delivery of a malicious file as an email attachment. Spear phishing spear phishing is targeted communication toward. Jul 30, 2018 had an interesting phishing attack on friday last week. A common tactic used in spear phishing campaigns is delivery of a malicious file as an email attachment. Another common phishing technique is the use of emails that direct you to open a malicious attachment, for example a pdf file. Had an interesting phishing attack on friday last week. Malicious pdfs revealing the techniques behind the attacks. It is also interesting to see that secure doc emails.
Opswat targeted with advanced spear phishing attack. If the attacker has set up the remote file as an smb share, then the crafted pdf s attempt to jump to that location will cause an exchange between the users machine and the attacker s server in which the users ntlm credentials are leaked. Spear phishing is a targeted phishing attack that involves. Best practices to close the door to spearphishing attacks. This reports proves just how easy it is for hackers to gain access to pii via simple phishing attacks, especially because it can be hard to monitor the email activities of a large workforce. Earlier this year, i got some firsthand experience dealing with a highlytargeted spear phishing attack. Phishing emails are exploratory attacks in which criminals attempt to obtain victims sensitive data, such as. Spear phishing email messages wont look as random as more general phishing attempts. A spearphishing attack typically employs a group of zombies to keep the target so busy responding. Fireeye can help connect the dots to discover it in real time.