Cybersafetyconnections May 23, 2022 Vol#68

  • Phishing is still very much around.
  • A new phishing scam targeted Microsoft window users and aims to deliver three malware.
  • Here is how we can prevent becoming victims of phishing scam.

Phishing still exists

Another cyber scam has targeted Microsoft window users. It is a phishing scam that delivers three forms of malware intended to steal sensitive information from victims.

The cybersecurity researchers at Fortinet explained that if you open the malicious attachment sent through the phishing email, you run three malware known as AveMariaRAT, BitRAT, and PandoraHVNC trojan malware.

And after you run the malware the cybercriminals can then steal usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information like bank details. 

The malware known as BitRat is harmful to victims because it can take complete control of the infected window systems, view webcam activities, listen to audio through the microphone without anyone knowing, mine cryptocurrency to attackers’ wallets and download more harmful files.

How the Phishing attack happens and Why

This attack starts with a phishing email requesting payment that looks to be coming from a source you count on and has a Microsoft excel document attachment.

According to the researchers the harmful file has harmful macros that will cause Microsoft Excel to flag macros as risky when you click it. If the user does not heed the warning and goes on to open the Microsoft Excel document attachment then the malware is delivered.

After this initial stage, Visual Basic Application (VBA) scripts and PowerShell are then used to fetch the malware for installation on the victim’s machine. The PowerShell code is broken up into three parts that stand for the three different forms of malware that can be installed.

The reason for delivering the three different forms of malware is not clear except that the cybercriminals may want to have a chance to steal more information/data.

Phishing is still a common way for cybercriminals to send viruses because of how successful it is.

How Can We Stop Falling Victims to Phishing scams?

Royalty-free privacy photos free download Pxfuel
  • Be wary of emails claiming to have vital information in the attachment that may require you to run macros.
  • Verify the source of the email by using a different form of communication to reach out and confirm if the said person sent the email.
  • Use anti-spam and anti-virus software and train employees on how to spot a possible phishing email and report it.

Subscribe to get recent blog post