The security researchers of Microsoft have reported about a new phishing campaign that they have detected recently, and they have also claimed that this campaign is quite big and is stealing the login credentials.
After detecting this phishing campaign, soon the experts initiated the investigation, however, they declared that this campaign attaches the open redirector links in the email communications that behave as a vector.
However, the main motive of using such vectors is to trick users into visiting malicious websites so that the threat actors can bypass the security software effectively.
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Credential phishing via open redirector links
The threat actors are targetting the login credentials in this phishing attack, and the credentials phishing emails generally signify a remarkably widespread way for threat actors to obtain a space in a network.
This type of phishing attack proceeds to develop as an aggressive attack vector and it has a specific goal that is to harvest user credentials.
But, this is not the first time when Microsoft encountered such an attack, as per the report of 2020 Digital Defense, they have blocked over 13 billion malicious and unusual mails, and among them, there were 1 billion of those emails that are distributed as URL-based phishing threats.
Redirecting to phishing pages
Once the user clicks the custom-built redirect links that are specifically sent to a page in attacker-owned infrastructure. This kind of page generally uses Google reCAPTCHA services to likely circumvent attempts at dynamically browsing and checking the contents of the page.
Not only this it’s also used for blocking some interpretation systems from launching to the actual phishing page that has been created by the threat actors.
Once the user is done with the CAPTCHA verification, the user has displayed a site that imitates a legitimate service, like Microsoft Office 365.
The sites generally ask the user for their password, then the passwords are being asked for twice, and after giving it the threat actors enter the system.
Moreover, the threat actors also send unique URLs to each beneficiary with PHP parameters that create simple information to execute on the phishing page.
Domains used
- c-tl[.]xyz
- a-cl[.]xyz
- j-on[.]xyz
- p-at[.]club
- i-at[.]club
- f-io[.]online
Characteristics of the domains used
- Free email domains
- Compromised legitimate domains
- Domains ending in .co.jp
- Attacker-owned DGA domains
Variety of ccTLDs used
- de
- com.mx
- com.au
- ca
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 protects against modern email threats
However, this kind of threat was being detected by the security analysts, that’s why Microsoft is keeping a constant check on this kind of situation.
This type of attack is quite unsudden that makes a huge impact on the network, thus Microsoft has suggested some mitigations toward the exploitation of open redirector links by known third-party platforms or assistance.
The Microsoft defender for office 365 has also recommended some mitigation for this phishing attack, and here they are:-
- Apply anti-phishing
- Safe Links
- Safe Attachments policies
They also recommend installing the Report Message add-in for Outlook as it will allow the users to report questionable messages to their protection teams and also to Microsoft.
This type of phishing campaign generally puts a lot of pressure and hamper the network services very badly, that’s why the users are suggested to apply the recommendation and follow them carefully.
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