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Privacy
Data protection DNS Fraud Website HTML Mallicious URLs Phishing and Spam Privacy

Data Security can be Enhanced Via Web Scraping

Web information aids security professionals in understanding potential weaknesses in their own systems, threats that might come from outside organizations' networks, and prospective threats that might come via the World Wide Web. 

In reality, automated tests that can find the presence of potential malware, phishing links, various types of fraud, information breaches, and counterfeiting schemes are performed using this database of public Web data.

Web scraping: What is it?

Large volumes of data can be automatically gathered from websites via web scraping. The majority of this data is unstructured and is shown in HTML format, t is transformed into structured data in a spreadsheet or database so that it can be used in a variety of applications.

These include utilizing online services, certain APIs, or even writing one's own code from scratch for web scraping. The company doing the scraping is aware of the sites to visit and the information to be collected. There are APIs on a lot of big websites, including Google, Twitter, Facebook, StackOverflow, etc., which let users access their data in a structured manner. 

How Do Web Scrapers Operate?

Web scrapers have the power to extract all the data from specified websites or the precise data that a user requires. If you wanted to find out what kinds of peelers were available, for instance, you might want to scrape an Amazon page, but you might only need information on the models of the various peelers, not the feedback from customers.

Therefore, the URLs are first provided when a web scraper intends to scrape a website. Then, all of the websites' HTML code is loaded. A more sophisticated scraper might also extract all of the CSS and Javascript parts. The scraper then extracts the necessary data from this HTML code and outputs it in the manner that the user has chosen. The data is typically stored as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV file, but it is also possible to save it in other formats, such as JSON files.

Cybersecurity Via Web Scraping

1. Monitoring for Potential Attacks on Institutions

Some of the top firms' security teams use open Web data collecting networks to acquire data on potential online threat actors and analyze malware. 

Additionally, they continuously and automatically check the public domain for potentially harmful websites or links using Web scraping techniques. For instance, security teams can instantly recognize several phishing websites that aim to steal important customer or business data like usernames, passwords, or credit card information.

2. Scraping the Web for Cybersecurity 

Web data collecting is used by a variety of cybersecurity companies to evaluate the risk that various domains pose for fraud and viruses. In order to properly assess the risk, cybersecurity firms can utilize this to contact potentially harmful websites as a 'victim' or a legitimate user to see how the website might target an unwary visitor. 

3. Analysis and Reduction of Threats

Public Web data collecting networks are used by threat intelligence companies to get information from a variety of sources, including blogs, public social media channels, and hackers, in order to find fresh information on a range of potential dangers. 

Their insights are based on this Web data collecting, which they subsequently disseminate to a wide range of customers that want to strengthen their own system security.

Despite being utilized often in business, lawful web scraping is still a touchy subject. Where personal information is scraped, this is the most evident. Users of LinkedIn, for instance, are aggressively marketing their personal information since the platform essentially functions as a professional CV showcase. Less desirable is having those details gathered in bulk, compiled, and sold to random people.

An organization's visibility and capacity to respond to online threats across the large online terrain in real-time are both improved by integrating with Web data collecting networks.








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phishing
Antivirus Cyber Data Cyber Fraud Excel File Fake Emails Financial Sector Fraud Website Malware Distribution MirrorBlast phishing

This New Phishing Attack Uses a Weaponized Excel File

 

A new phishing campaign is targeting financial sector employees by using links to download a ‘weaponized’ Excel document.

MirrorBlast, a phishing effort, was discovered in early September by security firm ET Labs. Morphisec, a fellow security firm, has now studied the malware and warns that the malicious Excel files might escape malware-detection systems due to "extremely lightweight" embedded macros, making it especially risky for businesses that rely on detection-based protection and sandboxing. 

Macros, or scripts for automating activities, have grown in popularity among cybercriminals. Despite the fact that macros are disabled by default in Excel, attackers employ social engineering to deceive potential victims into allowing macros. Despite appearing to be a simple approach, macros have been employed by state-sponsored hackers because they frequently work. 

Microsoft earlier this year extended its Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) for antivirus to combat the rise in macro malware and a recent phenomenon by attackers to utilise outdated Excel 4.0 XLM macros (rather than newer VBA macros) to circumvent anti-malware systems. 

As per Morphisec, the MirrorBlast attack chain is similar to tactics used by TA505, a well-established, financially focused Russia-based cybercriminal group. The group has been active since at least 2014 and is well-known for its usage of a wide range of tools. 

Morphisec researcher Arnold Osipov stated in a blog post, "TA505 is most known for frequently changing the malware they use as well as driving global trends in malware distribution." 

While the MirrorBlast attack begins with a document attached to an email, it afterwards uses a Google feed proxy URL with a SharePoint and OneDrive trap that masquerades as a file-sharing request. When the user clicks the URL, they are sent to a hacked SharePoint site or a bogus OneDrive site. Both versions will take to the malicious Excel document. 

The sample MirrorBlast email demonstrates how the attackers are capitalising on company-issued data on COVID-related modifications to working conditions. Morphisec points out that due to compatibility issues with ActiveX components, the macro code can only be run on a 32-bit version of Office. The macro itself runs a JavaScript script meant to avoid sandboxing by determining if the computer is in administrator mode. The msiexec.exe process is then launched, which downloads and instals an MSI package. 

Morphisec discovered two MIS installation versions that employed legal scripting tools named KiXtart and REBOL. The KiXtart script transmits information about the victim's workstation to the attacker's command and control server, including the domain, computer name, user name, and process list. It then answers with a number indicating whether the Rebol version should be used. Morphisec states that the Rebol script leads to a remote access tool called FlawedGrace, which the group has previously utilised. 

Osipov added, "TA505 is one of many financially motivated threat groups currently active in the marketplace. They are also one of the most creative, as they have a tendency to constantly shift the attacks they leverage to achieve their goals." 
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