In recent years, phishing has remained the most prevalent form of cyberattack, with approximately 1.2% of global email traffic being phishing attempts, amounting to about 3.4 billion emails daily.
Despite a low success rate, with only 3% of employees clicking on malicious links, the consequences can be disastrous for organizations.
Phishing continues to be a favorite initial access vector for threat actors due to its ease and effectiveness.
Advanced Phishing Techniques
Modern phishing campaigns have evolved significantly, incorporating sophisticated techniques to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) and capture user credentials.
One such method is the “Browser-in-the-Browser” (BITB) attack, introduced by security researcher mr.d0x in 2022.
This technique involves creating a fake browser window that mimics legitimate authentication processes, making it difficult for users to verify the URL’s authenticity.
By using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, phishers can create a convincing login experience that appears to be from a trusted third-party authenticator like Google or Microsoft.
Another advanced technique is the “Adversary-in-the-Middle” (AITM) approach, which uses reverse proxy tools like Evilginx to capture not only credentials but also sessions, effectively bypassing MFA.
According to QuarksLab Report, this method allows phishers to intercept and modify traffic between the victim and the legitimate website, making it nearly undetectable.
Evilginx enables the creation of “phishlets,” which are configuration files that define how the reverse proxy should behave for specific targets, allowing for customized phishing attacks.
Hybrid and Heavy Techniques
Hybrid techniques, such as “Frameless BITB,” combine the BITB method with real proxified authentication pages, enhancing the legitimacy of the phishing site.
This approach uses CSS to replace elements of the original authentication page, eliminating the need for iframes and making it harder to detect.
Heavy techniques, like using noVNC or WebRTC, involve hosting a browser in kiosk mode and controlling it remotely, allowing phishers to bypass 2FA by reusing the browser’s session.
Tools like EvilnoVNC and CuddlePhish facilitate these attacks by sandboxing the browser and streaming its output, giving phishers full control over the user’s interaction.
These advanced methods highlight the evolving sophistication of phishing attacks and the need for robust security measures to protect user accounts.
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