With the election approaching, threat actors are stepping up their efforts to manipulate voters and attack political campaigns. Cybersecurity researchers have discovered new network infrastructure built by Iranian hackers to target U.S. political campaigns. They are using phishing emails and links to trick users into installing malicious software disguised as cloud services.
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What you need to know
This infrastructure is Recorded Future Insect Grouphas been tracking the attack since June 2024. The cybersecurity firm linked the infrastructure to GreenCharlie, an Iranian-backed cyber threat group with ties to Mint Sandstorm, Charming Kitten, and APT42.
“Green Charlie’s phishing attacks are highly targeted, often using social engineering techniques that exploit current events and political tensions,” Recorded Future said.
The hackers set up their system very carefully, including creating a website using specific services. Phishing AttacksThese fake websites often appear to belong to cloud services, file sharing platforms, or document viewing tools to trick users into sharing personal information or downloading harmful files.
Some examples of these fake website names are “cloud”, “uptimezone”, “doceditor”, “joincloud”, “pageviewer”, etc. Most of these sites are registered under the .info domain, which is different from other domains like .xyz, .icu, .online, etc. that hackers have used in the past.
Don’t fall for this election season’s most sophisticated scam
This is not their first experience.
Threat actors are known for launching highly targeted attacks. Phishing AttacksThey use sophisticated social engineering tricks to infect users with malware, including POWERSTAR (also known as CharmPower and GorjolEcho) and GORBLE, which were recently identified by Google’s Mandiant as being used in attacks against Israel and the United States.
“Iran and associated cyberespionage actors have consistently demonstrated both the intent and the capability to engage in influence and interference activities targeting U.S. elections and domestic information space. These activities will likely continue to utilize hacking and leak tactics aimed at undermining or supporting political candidates, influencing voter behavior, and sowing discord,” the cybersecurity firm said.
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Phishing attacks are more sophisticated than ever
Phishing emails and messages are often the start of a cyber attack. Hackers send links that are designed to look real, but they’re not. Instead, the link delivers malware to your computer, allowing the hacker to access your system and steal your money or data. If you don’t notice the phishing link, you can’t blame yourself.
Earlier this month I Malware called “Voldemort” It poses as a government agency to trick people into clicking on malicious links, highlighting how clever scammers can be in using deceptive techniques to infect devices.
The best way to protect yourself from clicking on malicious links that could install malware that could access your personal information is to install antivirus protection on all your devices, which will also warn you about phishing emails and ransomware scams. We’ve handpicked the winners of the best antivirus protection of 2024 for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
4 additional ways to protect yourself against phishing attacks
Here are some concrete steps you can take to protect yourself from phishing attacks that use fake cloud services and other deceptive tactics.
1) Check the website URL. Always verify the website URL before entering any sensitive information.https://” and a padlock symbol will appear in your browser’s address bar. Be on the lookout for subtle spelling mistakes or unusual domain extensions such as .info.
2) Invest in a data deletion service: Hackers will target you based on publicly available information. Data Breach To the information you provide to the e-commerce shop. Check out my recommendations for data deletion services here.
3) Keep your software and systems up to date: Regularly Update your operating system, browsers, and security software Updates are essential to protect against vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. Updates often include security patches, bug fixes, and performance improvements. To make sure you don’t miss any important patches, enable automatic updates. If the automatic option isn’t available, check for updates manually. Staying up to date helps keep your device secure and functional.
4) Use strong, unique passwords: To prevent unauthorized access, make sure you have a strong, unique password for each of your accounts. Create passwords that combine letters, numbers, and symbols, and don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. Consider using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords. This will help you create unique, hard-to-crack passwords that hackers can’t guess. Learn more about me Here are the best password managers according to experts in 2024.
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Important points about the cart
US elections are important not only to the American people but also to the rest of the world, which is one of the reasons why foreign adversaries are trying to manipulate election campaigns. Hackers are working hard to infect people’s devices to spy on them, spread disinformation, and cause financial loss. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, not click on untrusted links, and invest in antivirus software. Hackers are changing their tactics, so it’s important to take advantage of the tools available to protect yourself.
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