designed to trickAttack.Phishingvictims into downloading credential-stealing malware and other threats . Detailed by researchers at Barracuda Networks , the invoice impersonation attacks aim to persuadeAttack.Phishingthe victim that the messages are from trusted sources , or to act on impulse -- planting the idea that the target has lost money is a common tactic in phishing emails , as it creates panic for the user . The victim thinks they are reacting to an important request when all they 're doing is playing right into the hands of the attackers . A new wave of these attacksAttack.Phishinginvolves attackers sendingAttack.Phishingstatus updates for invoices -- but these do n't just involve threat actors firing off millions of messages at random and hoping for the best ; they 're specially crafting the attacksAttack.Phishingto look authentic and crucially , from someone the target might trust . In one example of this attackAttack.Phishing, the target receivesAttack.Phishingan email asking for a reply to a query about the payment status of an invoice . A legitimate-looking invoice number is provided in the subject line and the sender 's name is chosen to beAttack.Phishingsomeone the recipient knows . MimickingAttack.Phishingsomeone the victim knows suggests the attackers are already familiar with the target and their network -- this information could simply have been scraped from a public profile such as LinkedIn or it could indicate that the attackers already have a foothold in the network which they 're looking to exploit for further gains . The message might look legitimate at first glance -- especially for someone quickly scanning emails in a high-paced financial environment -- but the invitation to click on a link to respond to the supposed status should be treated with suspicion . But if a recipient does click through , the link will download a Word document supposedly containing the invoice -- which then goes onto install malware onto the system . It could be subtle , like a trojan or the victim could recognise their error immediately if faced with ransomware . The attackers are n't just using a single template in the campaign , researchers have spotted other lures used in an effort to distribute a malicious payload . A second invoice impersonation attack uses the subject 'My current address update ' and claims to containAttack.Phishinginformation from a trusted contact about a change of address , along with details of a new invoice . Once again , the victim is encouragedAttack.Phishingto click through a link to download the document from a malicious host with the end result again being an infection with malware , credential theft or a compromised account . The attacks might seem simple , but those behind them would n't be deploying them if they did n't work . `` Impersonation is a proven tactic that criminals are regularly using to attractAttack.Phishingvictims into believing that they are acting on an important message , when that could n't be further from the truth , '' said Lior Gavish , VP at Barracuda Networks . When it comes to protection against this type of attack , employee training can go a long way , especially if they 're provided with a sandbox environment .
When it comes to phishing scamsAttack.Phishing, the general concept is that cyber criminals will only sendAttack.Phishinga link to trickAttack.Phishingusers into logging in with their social media or email credentials . But since that is an old school trick , the malicious threat actors are aiming at much more than your Facebook or Gmail password . Recently , we discovered a sophisticated phishing campaignAttack.Phishingtargeting Apple users . The aim of this attackAttack.Databreachis to stealAttack.Databreachtheir Apple ID , credit card data , a government issued ID card , and or passport . That ’ s not all , the scam also asks users to provide it with access to their device webcam to take their snap for verification purposes . It all starts with users receivingAttack.Phishingan email in which the sender poses asAttack.Phishingone of the officials from Apple Inc . The email alerts the user that their iCloud account is on hold because of an unusual sign in activity through an unknown browser and in case they didn ’ t log in from the device mentioned in the email they need to click on a link to change the password . Those who understand how phishing scamsAttack.Phishingwork will know how to ignore it , but unsuspecting users may fall for it and be trickedAttack.Phishinginto clicking the link and giving away their personal and financial information . Upon clicking the link users are takenAttack.Phishingto the phishing page which looks exactly likeAttack.Phishingthe official Apple ID login page . The users then are then asked to enter their Apple ID and its password to proceed . Once the users are logged in , they are taken to another page which asks users for their credit card details including cardholder name , card number , expiration date , CVV code and ED secure password . Upon giving this info , the users are asked to click the next tab . Remember by now the scammers have got your Apple ID login credentials and credit card information . Because criminals will remain criminals , the more you feed them the more they will ask for . Once the “ next ” tab is clicked , users are invited to enter their personal information including full name , date of birth , country , state , city , address , Zip code and phone number . This is done to use user information for further scams like identity theft and social engineering frauds . Once your personal information is handed over to the criminals , the page asks users to click the “ finish ” tab , but they aren ’ t done yet . Upon clicking the Finish tab users are taken to another page asking them to upload their password , a government issued identity card or the driver license – both sides . The users can click skip to avoid uploading their government issued documents but then they need to allow the website to access their device ’ s camera and microphone to take a snap of them . The users can also click the “ Skip ” tab , and the page will redirect them to the official Apple ID website . Good news is that Google Chrome has already detected the scam and marked the phishing domain as “ Deceptive. ” However , the bad news is that Firefox , Opera , and Safari browsers didn ’ t show any warning messages to their users therefore if you are using these browsers be vigilant .
A popular horse racing website ( Racingpulse.in ) that operates out of Bangalore , India was reportedly hacked on Tuesday . The hackers postedAttack.Ransoma statement on the home page informing that the entire data on the website has been encrypted . As is the norm , they also informed about what they expected as ransomAttack.Ransom. The ransom note suggested that they were expectingAttack.Ransomransom amountAttack.Ransomin Bitcoins while the amount to be paid was not disclosed clearly . The message also included an email address for further communication , which was registered at india.com . The hackers offered Racingpulse.in an unimaginable favor by providing decryption key of a maximum of three files which should not be more than 10mb in size for free . This was probably done to prove that they did hack all the files on the site . The note read : “ All your files have been encrypted : All your files have been encrypted due to a security problem with your PC . If you want to restore them , write us to the e-mail mkgoro @ india.com , You have to payAttack.Ransomfor decryption in Bitcoins . After payment , we will send you the decryption tool that will decrypt all your files . “ Free decryption as a guarantee : Before paying you can send to us up to 3 files for free decryption . The message contained a link to the beginners ’ guide to Bitcoins too . “ How to obtain Bitcoins : The easiest way to buy bitcoins is LocalBitcoins site . You have to register , click ‘ Buy bitcoins ’ , and select the seller by payment method and price . The ransomware used in this attackAttack.Ransomis a new version of Dharma Ransomware Trojan . In the ransom note , hackers have provided the email address mkgoro @ india.com , which is a contact email for the victims to facilitate communication with them . According to security researchers , this new version of Dharma works just like the older version using unsolicited emails . These emails contain social network logos , bank information , payment portals and an option to download and open a file . The previous two attacks were countered by using backup files , said Kumar . “ We have now decided to move to another server in the hope of better security , it may take a day for the site to be up and running , ” revealed Kumar .