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T1566.003 Spearphishing via Service

Adversaries may send spearphishing messages via third-party services in an attempt to gain access to victim systems. Spearphishing via service is a specific variant of spearphishing. It is different from other forms of spearphishing in that it employs the use of third party services rather than directly via enterprise email channels.

All forms of spearphishing are electronically delivered social engineering targeted at a specific individual, company, or industry. In this scenario, adversaries send messages through various social media services, personal webmail, and other non-enterprise controlled services. These services are more likely to have a less-strict security policy than an enterprise. As with most kinds of spearphishing, the goal is to generate rapport with the target or get the target’s interest in some way. Adversaries will create fake social media accounts and message employees for potential job opportunities. Doing so allows a plausible reason for asking about services, policies, and software that’s running in an environment. The adversary can then send malicious links or attachments through these services.

A common example is to build rapport with a target via social media, then send content to a personal webmail service that the target uses on their work computer. This allows an adversary to bypass some email restrictions on the work account, and the target is more likely to open the file since it’s something they were expecting. If the payload doesn’t work as expected, the adversary can continue normal communications and troubleshoot with the target on how to get it working.

Item Value
ID T1566.003
Sub-techniques T1566.001, T1566.002, T1566.003
Tactics TA0001
CAPEC ID CAPEC-163
Platforms Linux, Windows, macOS
Version 2.0
Created 02 March 2020
Last Modified 18 October 2020

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
G0130 Ajax Security Team Ajax Security Team has used various social media channels to spearphish victims.3
G0016 APT29 APT29 has used the legitimate mailing service Constant Contact to send phishing e-mails.
1
G0070 Dark Caracal Dark Caracal spearphished victims via Facebook and Whatsapp.12
G0037 FIN6 FIN6 has used fake job advertisements sent via LinkedIn to spearphish targets.7
G0032 Lazarus Group Lazarus Group has used social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Twitter, to send spearphishing messages.456
G0059 Magic Hound Magic Hound used various social media channels (such as LinkedIn) as well as messaging services (such as WhatsApp) to spearphish victims.8910
G0049 OilRig OilRig has used LinkedIn to send spearphishing links.11
G0112 Windshift Windshift has used fake personas on social media to engage and target victims.2

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1049 Antivirus/Antimalware Anti-virus can also automatically quarantine suspicious files.
M1021 Restrict Web-Based Content Determine if certain social media sites, personal webmail services, or other service that can be used for spearphishing is necessary for business operations and consider blocking access if activity cannot be monitored well or if it poses a significant risk.
M1017 User Training Users can be trained to identify social engineering techniques and spearphishing messages with malicious links.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component
DS0015 Application Log Application Log Content
DS0029 Network Traffic Network Traffic Content

References


  1. NCSC, CISA, FBI, NSA. (2021, May 7). Further TTPs associated with SVR cyber actors. Retrieved July 29, 2021. 

  2. Karim, T. (2018, August). TRAILS OF WINDSHIFT. Retrieved June 25, 2020. 

  3. Villeneuve, N. et al.. (2013). OPERATION SAFFRON ROSE . Retrieved May 28, 2020. 

  4. Weidemann, A. (2021, January 25). New campaign targeting security researchers. Retrieved December 20, 2021. 

  5. ClearSky Research Team. (2020, August 13). Operation ‘Dream Job’ Widespread North Korean Espionage Campaign. Retrieved December 20, 2021. 

  6. Breitenbacher, D and Osis, K. (2020, June 17). OPERATION IN(TER)CEPTION: Targeted Attacks Against European Aerospace and Military Companies. Retrieved December 20, 2021. 

  7. Villadsen, O.. (2019, August 29). More_eggs, Anyone? Threat Actor ITG08 Strikes Again. Retrieved September 16, 2019. 

  8. Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2017, July 27). The Curious Case of Mia Ash: Fake Persona Lures Middle Eastern Targets. Retrieved February 26, 2018. 

  9. Burt, T. (2019, March 27). New steps to protect customers from hacking. Retrieved May 27, 2020. 

  10. ClearSky Research Team. (2020, August 1). The Kittens Are Back in Town 3 - Charming Kitten Campaign Evolved and Deploying Spear-Phishing link by WhatsApp. Retrieved April 21, 2021. 

  11. Bromiley, M., et al.. (2019, July 18). Hard Pass: Declining APT34’s Invite to Join Their Professional Network. Retrieved August 26, 2019. 

  12. Blaich, A., et al. (2018, January 18). Dark Caracal: Cyber-espionage at a Global Scale. Retrieved April 11, 2018. 

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