Cyber attacks are on the RISE!

Source : Email directly from Hollard

He11o Hollard Partner, 

Cyberattacks are on the rise as we interact increasingly and frequently online and we need you to be vigilant as you are the last security defence for Hollard. 

There has been a massive global increase in a sophisticated cyberattack called Emotet. It is an advanced trojan (a file disguised as a legitimate file or software) spread through malicious phishing emails with malicious attachments or links.

The Hollard security systems have been successfully blocking thousands of these malicious emails, but due to the trojan’s capability to adapt and to bypass security systems, some of these malicious emails may make it through undetected. It’s so important that each of us is on high alert when we’re on our systems. 

The latest email threat contains the following:

• A password protected ZIP file attachment
• The password is in the body of the email

The attack consists of:

• User downloading the ZIP file or clicking on the link
• Entering the password provided to unzip or download the file
• Unzipping and downloading the document. This can be Word, PDF, Excel, etc.
• Macro or script runs on the computer to infect the computer
• The infected computer then connects out to Internet to notify the cyber criminals that the computer has been successfully infected
• The infected computer can then be used to infect other computers (both personal and on the Hollard network (at home and at the office)
• The cybercriminal can then intercept, log, and record outbound traffic in your web browser, obtain stored passwords and even scrape data from user’s emails.

Below is a sample of a malicious document enticing a user to enable editing or enable content.

Recommendations:

• DO NOT download attachments or click on links in emails requesting your password.
• DO NOT allow Enable Editing or Enable Content on documents, unless you are positive that the document can be trusted.
• Ensure that your Trend Micro anti-malware is working and up to date.
• Ensure you have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled wherever possible, e.g. on the VPN, your personal banking, email, etc.

If you believe that your anti-malware is not working or not up to date, please contact your system administrator.

Stay safe. 

Your Group IT