I subscribe to a number of websites that report on vulnerabilities and various scams as they emerge. One in particular caught my eye as we currently have at least one site under constant bombardment (4 per minute for 8 days now) with a spam email that carries a highly suspicious link. In that case no damage has been done other than wasting a lot of my time. The sending VPN node is blocked (the actual sender is hidden from us) and the content of the email has been analysed and if any get through they are sent to a junk email folder. The problem here is detecting it when it happens to minimise disruption.
One such publication is called Hacker News. I get that daily, and there are all sorts of reports of problems in major systems. I want to bring your attention to just one of them.
IcedID
There is a particular email circulating right now which will come most likely through your contact form, will look official and will advise you that are using images on your site which are subject to copyright. Practically speaking, while I know some organisations are not particularly careful where they pick images up from, I have only ever come across one legitimate case.
The email carries an obfuscated link (you cannot tell where it is going to take you to) this is really the first warning sign. Never click on anything that does not look right particularly if it is an unsolicited email. In this case the email states that the link will lead to evidence of copyright infringement and you need to take action now or legal action will be taken against your organisation. This type of email is likely to panic someone into clicking on the link. If you see anything like this relating to your website forward it to me and I will check it.
If you do click on the link it will lead to downloading “IcedID” an information stealing malware. If you do not have strong security on your system with AV and Security software the download may not be detected.
You can read about it here: Hackers Using Website’s Contact Forms to Deliver IcedID Malware (thehackernews.com)
Most junk email is easily identified, there are a few around that can scare people into taking action. Don’t become a victim of that. Send it to me, I will check it out for you.