• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 

Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

 | 

Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

 | 

SonicWall fixed critical flaw in SMA 100 devices exploited in Overstep malware attacks

 | 

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • In the mind of cybercriminals – The Boston Marathon attack

In the mind of cybercriminals – The Boston Marathon attack

Pierluigi Paganini April 17, 2013

To fight the cybercrime we must start thinking like criminals, they are people motivated solely by money and the need to monetize every operation. I wrote, like many other colleagues, various articles on phishing attacks and their potential effects, of course the success of this attack is based on the capacity of attackers to deceive the user and this is done with social engineering techniques.

Let’s imagine that a single criminal, or a small gang, decides to arrange a phishing attack,  he needs a good tactics to induce the victims to trust the mail they receive and of course instruments to send them.

I am saddened by the deplorable attack on the Boston Marathon, but events like this are a wonderful opportunity for criminals who may try to trick victims into sending emails about the attack. The world is shocked by the images of the explosion,  but cyber criminals immediately abused them for their dirty affairs.

If you search on the internet it’s easy to verify that many users started with receiving emails containing malicious links or malware that promising news on the event. In the following image a sample of this malicious email containing a link to the page “news.html” containing URLs of non-malicious YouTube clips of the attack.

 BostonMaliciousMail

 

But surprisingly just after After a delay of 60 seconds, another link leading to an executable file is activated … in this phase if the user opens the file allows the malware to infect his machine. Kaspersky detected a malware dubbed “Trojan-PSW.Win32.Tepfer.*” that once executed try to connect various IP located in Argentina, Taiwan, and Ukraine.

BostonMarathonMalware

 

Without complicating life too much, how could an ill-intentioned  individual launch a malicious spam campaign?

The first thought goes to spam-friendly SMTP servers for rent, ideal to arrange a fraud in a short time not worrying about the resources needed. Typically criminals could opt for two choices, abuse of abuse of Web-based email service providers or spread malware with built-in SMTP engines, but as described by cybercrime expert Dancho Danchev they could use a spam-friendly SMTP servers.

Danchev found in the underground market a spam-friendly SMTP servers offered the modest sum of  $30 on a monthly basis.

SMTP servers

 

The offers are really smart the post states:

“Criminals offer a starting package that includes 20GB disk space, one SMTP server, and the capacity to send out 700k spam emails, followed by the optimal package which includes 3 SMTP servers, 10GB disk space, and the capacity to send out 2 million emails on a monthly basis. “

The service provider, hosted by Veraton Projects LTD’s network,  also offer a “Hurricane package”, a premium service with unlimited disc space, 10 SMTP servers, and the ability to send out 7 million emails on a monthly basis … a good firepower, what do you think about?

This is just a sample but the Internet is full of similar services, bullet proof hosting represent a paradise for cyber criminals that in many cases don’t need particular knowledge to manage a pre-configured infrastructure rented to an affordable price.

Unfortunately, while the world was horrified to witness the tragic events, unscrupulous criminals continue to operate undisturbed.

 

[adrotate banner=”9″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Cybercrime)

[adrotate banner=”12″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Boston Boston Marathon Cybercrime phishing Social Engineering spam

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

    Malware / July 27, 2025

    Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

    Breaking News / July 27, 2025

    Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

    Cyber Crime / July 26, 2025

    Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

    Intelligence / July 26, 2025

    Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

    Intelligence / July 25, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT