Globally 74% of all targeted attack attempts use email vectors, even as business emails are estimated to reach 139.4 billion per day by 2017. Trend Micro on average blocks 50 billion email spam-sending IP addresses. Spear phishing is commonly being used by attackers to gain access to a company networks to facilitate a targeted attack, through malicious emails. Attackers gather intel on an individual in the targeted company and using the gathered information an email with malicious attachment or link is then sent to the target. Once the target opens the email, the attachment or link leads the target to a malicious website hosting malware, thus infecting the targets machine, giving the attackers access to the network. "Attackers disguise these emails to make it look like its coming from a legitimate source, a colleague, a new updated from the HR team or something work related. The attackers will have done their homework, so the target is not suspicious of the incoming email, a few clicks and the criminals have been successful in infiltration the system. Email is the most common form of business communication, and one of the easiest way for attackers to get into a company's network," said Ihab Moawad, VP Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa, Russia & CIS at Trend Micro. How do attackers/cybercriminals gain unauthorized access to company networks and manage to steal personal information, financial data? While some people may know a little about corporate data breaches, few know how it's actually done, or the methods cybercriminals use to execute an attack. In a targeted attack, attackers have a certain level of expertise and have sufficient resources to execute their schemes over a long period of time. In cases where the breach indeed resulted from a targeted attack, it is important to know that attackers can adapt, adjust, and improve their attacks to counter their victim's defenses. Attackers utilize various social engineering techniques that leverage recent events, work-related issues, and other areas of interest pertaining to the intended target. Techniques like the use of backdoors, zero-day or software exploits, watering hole, and spear phishing are the most common methods used to gain information. While phishing and spear phishing share similar techniques, they are not to be confused. Phishing is a generally exploratory attack that targets a broader audience, while spear phishing is a targeted version of phishing. They are different in the sense that phishing is a more straightforward attack—once information such as bank credentials, is stolen, the attackers have pretty much what they intended to get. In spear phishing, the successful theft of credentials or personal information is often only the beginning of the attack, because it's only used to gain access to the target network—a move that ultimately leads to a targeted attack. As mentioned above, spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing in which fraudulent emails target specific organizations in an effort to gain access to confidential information.
