How Multi-Stage Phishing Attacks Exploit QRs, CAPTCHAs, and Steganography
Phishing attacks are steadily becoming more sophisticated, with cybercriminals investing in new ways of deceiving victims into revealing sensitive information or installing malicious software. One of the latest trends in phishing is the use of QR codes, CAPTCHAs, and steganography. See how they are carried out and learn to detect them.
Quishing
Quishing, a phishing technique resulting from the combination of "QR" and "phishing," has become a popular weapon for cybercriminals in 2023.
By concealing malicious links within QR codes, attackers can evade traditional spam filters, which are primarily geared towards identifying text-based phishing attempts. The inability of many security tools to decipher the content of QR codes further makes this method a go-to choice for cybercriminals.
CAPTCHA-based attacks
CAPTCHA is a security solution used on websites to prevent automated bots from creating fake accounts or submitting spam. Attackers have managed to exploit this tool to their advantage.
Attackers are increasingly using CAPTCHAs to mask credential-harvesting forms on fake websites. By generating hundreds of domain names using a Randomized Domain Generated Algorithm (RDGA) and implementing CloudFlare's CAPTCHAs, they can effectively hide these forms from automated security systems, such as web crawlers, which are unable to bypass the CAPTCHAs.
The example below requires the user to pass a CAPTCHA check and then uses a realistic Office 365 private login page that is difficult to distinguish from the real page at first glance.
Once the victim enters their login credentials, they are redirected to a legitimate website, while the attackers exfiltrate the credentials to their Command-and-Control server.
Steganography malware campaigns
Steganography is the practice of hiding data inside different media, such as images, videos, or other files.
A typical phishing attack that employs steganography begins with a carefully crafted email designed to appear legitimate. Embedded within the email is an attachment, often a Word document, accompanied by a link to a file-sharing platform like Dropbox.
The unsuspecting user that clicks the link inside the document downloads an archive, which contains a VBS script file. Upon execution, the script retrieves an image file, seemingly harmless but containing hidden malicious code. Once executed, the malware infects the victim's system.
These attacks involve multiple steps or stages to deceive victims and employ various tools to execute a sequence of interconnected tactics. This complexity makes them harder to detect and mitigate than previous methods of phishing. Understanding the concept of multi-stage phishing attacks highlights the need for robust cybersecurity measures such as user education, advanced threat detection systems, regular security awareness training, and strong authentication practices to mitigate the risks associated with these increasingly sophisticated attacks.
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