Typically, the goal of associating an attacker’s MAC address with another host’s IP address, such as the default gateway, is to call any traffic designed to send that IP address through an attacker. ARP spoofing permits an assailant to snap up data frames in the network and modify or stop all traffic. Usually, it is used for opening other network-based attacks, such as session hijacking attacks, MITM attacks, or denial of service.

It is important to note that only networks using Address Resolution Protocol can use this attack. As a result, the attacker will have direct access to the network segment. In addition, ARP is indeed a commonly used protocol whose algorithms convert Internet layer addresses to the link layer.

No matter whether requested by the network host or not, any Address Resolution Protocol replies received will be automatically cached. When it receives a new ARP reply, all records, including those that have not expired, will be overwritten. Address Resolution Protocol can not authenticate the peer from which the packet was sent because it has no method. This is the vulnerability that is possible to ARP Cache Poisoning.

ARP Spoofing (ARP Cache Poisoning) Attack

Because the ARP protocol does not have authentication, this allows spoofing ARP by sending spoofed ARP messages within the local network. Such attacks will be run from an infected host in the local network or from the attacker’s device, which should be connected to the same network as the target.

The task of such an attack is to associate the attacker’s MAC address with the target host’s IP address so that all traffic going to the target host will pass through the attacker’s host.

An attacker can inspect traffic (spying) and continue sending to the target host without revealing himself, modify content before forwarding (man-in-the-middle attack), or launch an attack that partially or wholly interrupts packets transferring in the network.

Detect and Prevent ARP Spoofing

Software that specializes at detecting ARP Cache Poisoning typically uses a specific form of certification or cross-checking of ARP responses. Thus uncertified ARP responses are blocked. Typically, these methods are integrated with a DHCP server to certify dynamic and static IP addresses.

An Address Resolution Protocol spoof attack indicator may be the presence of multiple IP addresses tied to the same MAC address, although sometimes the use of such a scheme is legitimate. The device analyzes Address Resolution Protocol replies and sends an email notification if the ARP record is changed in a more passive approach.

How Do I Protect Myself From an ARP Cache Poisoning Attack?

1. Don’t Rely on Trust Relationships: Trust relationships use IP addresses for authentication, a method that is particularly vulnerable to ARP spoofing. Instead of relying on IP addresses alone, enhance your security by implementing robust authentication mechanisms. Create unique logins and passwords for users, and define clear security policies. These measures ensure that each user is properly authenticated and authorized, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
2. Implement Packet Filtering: Use packet filtering to control the data entering and leaving your network. This is typically handled by a firewall, which acts as a barrier between your trusted internal network and the untrusted public internet. By configuring your firewall to inspect, allow, or block packets based on protocols, source and destination IP addresses, and port numbers, you significantly enhance your network’s security. Effective packet filtering can prevent malicious data packets from being sent or received, thwarting potential ARP spoofing attempts.
3. Employ Static ARP: For environments with critical or static systems, consider using static Address Resolution Protocol, where you manually enter ARP entries into the device’s ARP cache. This approach binds IP addresses to specific MAC addresses, making it much harder for attackers to insert fraudulent ARP messages into the network. Adding a permanent record in the ARP cache provides an additional layer of protection against spoofing attacks and ensures that your devices communicate only with authenticated counterparts.

How to Employ Static ARP

Static Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) entries are a network security measure used to prevent ARP spoofing by manually binding an IP address to a Media Access Control (MAC) address. This ensures that the network interface card (NIC) only allows communications from a specific MAC address on a given IP address. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up static ARP entries on a network:

1. Determine the IP and MAC Addresses

To find the IP and MAC addresses of the devices on your local network, you can use the ARP command. This command helps view and manage the ARP table, which links IP addresses to their corresponding MAC addresses on your network.

1. Open Command Prompt: Press Win + R, type cmd, and hit Enter.
2. View ARP Table: Type arp -a in the command prompt and press Enter. This displays a list of all active IP addresses and their associated MAC addresses.

Example of ARP Output:

Internet Address Physical Address Type
192.168.1.1 00-14-22-01-23-45 dynamic
192.168.1.2 00-14-22-01-23-46 dynamic


2. Access Your Router or Switch

Log into your network router or switch that manages ARP tables. You will need administrative access to modify ARP settings.

3. Navigate to the ARP Settings

Find the section in the router or switch’s admin panel that deals with ARP settings. This section might be labeled as “ARP Table”, “Static ARP”, “Security Settings”, or something similar.

4. Add Static ARP Entries

Within the ARP settings, select the option to add a new ARP entry. Enter the IP address and the corresponding MAC address of the device. Ensure that you enter these details correctly to avoid network issues.

5. Save and Apply Changes

After entering the details, save the changes and apply them. It is important to ensure that the ARP table is correctly updated across the network.

6. Verify the Static ARP Entry

Verify that the static ARP entry is working as intended. You can do this by checking the ARP table in the router or switch to see if the entry appears as static. Additionally, you might want to test network connectivity from the device to confirm that it can communicate securely and effectively.

7. Continuous Monitoring and Management

Static ARP entries require ongoing management to ensure they remain effective and accurate. Regularly review and update the ARP table as needed, especially when new devices are added to the network or when network configurations change.

Using static ARP entries effectively reduces the risk of ARP spoofing attacks by ensuring that IP addresses on your network are paired reliably with their legitimate MAC addresses. However, managing static ARP can become complex in larger networks, so it’s often complemented with other security measures like dynamic ARP inspection on switches.

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Phishing is a cyber-attack method that introduces malware to a computer via email. Intruders send users emails containing links under various pretexts. After clicking these links, the malware enters your computer. Thus, cybercriminals deceive the target to get as much data about the user as possible: his card numbers, bank accounts, etc

Types of Phishing Attacks

We have already explored what phishing is and how it manifests itself. Now, let’s delve into the types of phishing so you can better recognize them, understand where they might appear, and grasp their potential dangers to your PC. See the detailed descriptions below:

• Email Phishing: This is the most common form of phishing. Fraudsters send fraudulent emails that seem to come from reputable sources, such as financial institutions or well-known companies, to steal sensitive information like login credentials or credit card numbers. The emails often contain a link that leads to a fake website designed to capture your personal information.
• Phone Phishing: Also known as voice phishing or vishing, this technique involves phone calls to users with the aim of tricking them into divulging personal, financial, or security information. Attackers might impersonate bank officials, tech support, or representatives from other organizations to obtain sensitive information directly over the phone.
• Clone Phishing: In clone phishing, attackers make a copy or “clone” of a previously delivered email from a trusted sender that contained a link or an attachment. The malicious actor changes the link or attached file to a malicious version and resends it under the guise of an update or correction of the original email, often claiming it was re-sent due to a mistake or problem with the previous link.
• Spear Phishing: Unlike the broad nature of standard phishing, spear phishing targets specific individuals or organizations. This type of attack involves personalized messages that are more convincing because they are often based on the victim’s job position, work relationships, or personal interests, gathered from various data sources like social media or compromised accounts.
• Angler Phishing: This type of phishing exploits social media platforms to masquerade as customer support accounts. Fraudsters create fake accounts or hack into existing ones to respond to genuine customer queries. Through this method, they aim to extract personal data or spread malware by encouraging the victim to click on malicious links or give up sensitive information under the pretense of resolving a support issue.
• Smishing and Vishing: Smishing is phishing via SMS messages, where attackers send text messages that lure recipients into revealing personal information or downloading malware. Vishing, as mentioned, is similar but conducted over the phone. Both methods use social engineering to convince the victim to act against their best interests, often creating a sense of urgency or fear.

Examples of Phishing Attacks

Above, we have reviewed the types of phishing. Consider now the examples of how these types of phishing appear in action:

• You receive a letter that will convince you only to click the link in this letter.
• The most common phrase in these emails is “Click here”.
• Emails that come alert that your payment is allegedly not passed, try again, and so on.
• The letter in which you are deceived as if you have not paid taxes and something should.
• The user can go to the fraudsters’ website, although initially entering the address of the bank.
• Replace DNS routers without user permission.

What is Spoofing Attacks?

Spoofing is the substitution of foreign data by a cybercriminal by falsification to use it for their evil intentions unlawfully. It is often done to bypass the control and security system and distribute malware. The most common types of spoofing are IP spoofing, DNS spoofing, and email spoofing.

Types of Spoofing Attack

1. Email Spoofing. This method involves deception and the forgery of the sender’s address in the letters. This is what the attacker does as a way to spoof the domain, change the sender address, and change the value of the fields “From” and “Reply to”
2. Website Spoofing. The attacker creates a fake site that masquerades as legitimate. For the visibility of a realistic site, intruders use legal logos, colors, and fonts. The purpose of this method is to install malware on your computer through such a site.
3. Caller ID Spoofing. In this case, the attacker is hiding under a fake phone number. Any outgoing call number is used, but the incoming one will be the one that the intruder wants. That is, it will be difficult to identify the attacker, as he hides his outgoing number.
4. IP Spoofing. It is the renumbering IP addresses in packets sent to the attacking server. The sending packet specifies the address that the recipient trusts. As a result, the victim receives the data that the hacker needs. You can completely exclude IP spoofing by comparing the sender’s MAC and IP addresses. However, this type of spoofing can be helpful. For example, hundreds of virtual users with false IP addresses were created to test resource performance.
5. DNS Server Spoofing. One way to crack something is to attack by replacing DNS domain names to replace the IP address. DNS (Domain Name Server) spoofing or DNS cache poisoning is a type of cyberattack used by an attacker to direct the victim’s traffic to a malicious website (instead of a legitimate IP address).

Examples of Spoofing Attacks

Each type of spoofing can manifest itself differently. However, for you to understand the general picture of how spoofing works, below we will look at some examples:

• In one case, spoofing is manifested by changing the IP address when the entire site is hacked.
• It may be a website disguised as a bank you know that asks you to log in and sends you a link, but it’s just a scam to get your confidential information.

Difference Between Phishing and Spoofing

Now that we know what phishing and spoofing are, we know of the species and how they manifest themselves in practice, then we can consider what the difference between them is:

• Objective: The purpose of spoofing and phishing is different. The purpose of phishing is to get information about the user. The goal of spoofing is identity theft.
• Nature of Scam: In the case of spoofing – it seems completely harmless and not even fraudsters. It does not extort email addresses or mobile numbers. But phishing is a scam because it steals users’ data.
• Subset: Phishing and spoofing have nothing to do with each other. But there is a similarity. The similarity is that spoofing steals an identity from the Internet before committing fraud.
• Method: The primary spoofing method is the use of malware when phishing uses social engineering.

How to Prevent Phishing and Spoofing Attacks

Of course, there are methods to avoid an attack from the side of spoofing and phishing attacks . Of course, you cannot do anything because you will hurt yourself, but we recommend you take some measures. See below:

Phishing:

Before clicking on the proposed link in the email, move your mouse over it and look at the address you will go to. It should be the same as you were given. If it is different – it is likely to be a hoax. If you receive messages with such a logo – “Do not hesitate”, “Last Chance”, “Hurry”, and the like, then delete them or send them to spam. They pressure you to make a quick decision and immediately click on the link. Open any attachment only through proven and reliable sources. If you have received an email from a particular user, but you are not sure it will be sent to you, you better call him.

Spoofing:

• Check the letter for grammatical and spelling errors.
• Look carefully at the sender’s address
• Encryption and authentication
• Robust verification methods
• Firewall (protects your network, filters traffic with fake IP addresses, blocks access of unauthorized strangers).

You can also apply the same tips that we have considered to prevent phishing. It would help if you were careful in all these aspects. You do not know what you will be exposed to. Put protection on your PC, which will work for your benefit, warn you about perceived threats, and will closely monitor all your online activities.

We invite you to try Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, it is an excellent protection against spoofing, phishing attacks, and other online threats. Moreover, it is also able to get rid of the virus that helps scammers to deceive you.

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What is Sniffing?

Sniffing involves monitoring data packets and recording network activities. System or network administrators commonly employ sniffers to troubleshoot network issues. However, hackers find sniffing to be a convenient technique. Through sniffing, they can intercept sensitive data packets containing valuable information such as account credentials and passwords. Cybercriminals typically implant sniffer software within the system to facilitate their illicit activities.

Types of Sniffing Attacks

To effectively combat sniffing attacks, it is crucial to understand their origins, characteristics, and defensive measures. Below, we will explore different types of sniffing attacks to provide a clear understanding of their nature and manifestations:

Active Sniffing

Active sniffing occurs within a switched environment. A switch’s primary function is to track MAC port addresses and facilitate data transfer to specific destinations. In active sniffing, interceptors proactively inject traffic into the local network to intercept data between targets. Various methods can be employed to carry out active sniffing.

Passive Sniffing

Passive sniffing involves listening through a hub. When traffic passes through a network segment, it becomes visible to all machines within that segment. The traffic operates at the network link layer. Through this method, hackers send network packets across the network, allowing them to reach connected machines and intercept data.

In the case of active sniffing with address resolution protocols, attackers tamper with the switch’s content-addressable memory tables. By doing so, they intercept data from the switch, redirecting legitimate traffic to alternate ports. Other sniffing techniques include spoofing, DNS, and DHCP.

What is Spoofing?

Spoofing is a type of cybercrime where attackers impersonate other computers or networks, disguising themselves as ordinary users to deceive the target into believing the authenticity of the source of information. This method is employed by hackers as a variation of operating system hacking to steal sensitive data, exploit compromised computers, launch DDoS (Denial of Service) attacks, and more.

Different Types of Spoofing Attacks

Various forms of spoofing attacks exist, including GPS spoofing, website spoofing, IP spoofing, and others. These attacks target different avenues, demonstrating that attacks and hacks can occur beyond web browsers and pop-up windows. Below, we will outline the most common types of spoofing:

1. Caller ID Spoofing. Intruders use spoofing the caller ID so that they can not block the number. They take other people’s numbers; they use alien city codes to disguise themselves. They use voice protocol on the Internet. All this is to get important information from the recipient of this call after the recipient picks up the phone.
2. Email Spoofing. Through this method, attackers attempt to steal your confidential data, harm your computer or put malicious software on it. These are disguised emails. The sender’s address bar may seem familiar to you; it is done to deceive you as if the letters were legal. Be careful. In this case, we will use alternative letters or numbers in the sender’s address bar.
3. Website Spoofing. Intruders disguise a dangerous website as a legitimate website. They use similar colors and the shape of company logos to do this. The addresses of these sites are also fake, although they may be identical to legal ones. Of course, the primary purpose of this is to harm the user. When you visit such a site, it turns out to be malicious, endangering your computer and its data.
4. DNS Server Spoofing. This method redirects traffic to a different IP address. In this case, it occurs at the DNS protocol level. DNS (Domain Name Server) spoofing or DNS cache poisoning is a type of cyberattack used by an attacker to direct the victim’s traffic to a malicious website (instead of a legitimate IP address).
5. GPS Spoofing. It’s easy to fool GPS receivers; Fake signals resemble accurate signals. It is done to divert planes, ships, and other vehicles and redirects them to different addresses.
6. ARP Spoofing. It is a method of manipulation to capture sessions and steal personal data. The ultimate goal is to access the data of this address’s owner. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) spoofing is a type of cyberattack that relies on attackers sending malicious ARP packets to a default gateway over a local area network (LAN), using it to associate their own MAC address with an IP address. gateway devise.
7. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack. They are also known as the attack type «man in the middle» (MITM). In these attacks, the attacker intercepts communication between two users. Thus, the attacker can deceive the victim by revealing confidential information by «substitution» of the identity of the original sender, whom the recipient supposedly trusts.
8. Text Message Spoofing. The method of sending a text message via the wrong phone number. These text messages send links through which the user can get malicious and phishing downloads. Protect yourself and your mobile phone data using security.
9. Extension Spoofing. The attacker changes the file extension and masks malware under the test file. After running this text file on your device, the malware gets on your device.

Difference Between Sniffing and Spoofing

Now, let’s delve into the distinction between sniffing and spoofing. Sniffing involves the collection of data packets, analysis of network traffic, and the interception of targeted packets. On the other hand, spoofing focuses on stealing user data, distributing malware, and facilitating various forms of data theft through phishing attacks. In spoofing, attackers utilize a foreign IP address and create a TCP/IP connection to deceive the system. In contrast, sniffing occurs when an attacker (or a program) manipulates between two packet transfer points, impersonating one of those points to intercept and steal the data being exchanged between them.

Protection Against Sniffing and Spoofing

Every day, cybercriminals develop more and more different malware for attacks. Below we will consider some of the most common items for protection:

Sniffing Protection

• Install Antivirus Software
• Install VPN
• Do not visit unencrypted websites
• Try not to share Wi-Fi. It may be unsafe
• Do not use unencrypted apps to exchange messages

Spoofing Protection

• Provide packet filtering
• Authenticate systems and users
• Use software to detect spoofing
• Verify the authenticity of the sources

After reading everything, you might be wondering how to navigate online safely. However, this article is not intended to make you fear using various services and withdraw from civilization. On the contrary, our aim is to alert you to the risks posed by cybercriminals and provide you with reliable protection through the use of Gridinsoft Anti-Malware. This powerful tool scans all incoming and outgoing files on your network, actively monitors the websites you visit, and shields you from any malicious attempts targeting your computer. With Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, you can confidently navigate the online world with enhanced security.

Download and install Anti-Malware by clicking the button below. After the installation, run a Full scan: this will check all the volumes present in the system, including hidden folders and system files. Scanning will take around 15 minutes.

After the scan, you will see the list of detected malicious and unwanted elements. It is possible to adjust the actions that the antimalware program does to each element: click "Advanced mode" and see the options in the drop-down menus. You can also see extended information about each detection - malware type, effects and potential source of infection.

Click "Clean Now" to start the removal process. Important: removal process may take several minutes when there are a lot of detections. Do not interrupt this process, and you will get your system as clean as new.

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What Is Black Hat SEO?

Black Hat SEO is any action that aims to improve the site’s reputation and rating in the search engines in an illegal way. This activity uses methods that violate the maintenance rules of search engines such as Bing or Google, pushing the site higher in search results.

Since the Internet’s development, many marketers have tried to attract traffic and improve their reputation by using black SEO. But over the years, search engines have improved the quality of their service and have begun to take appropriate measures against such fraudsters. Unfortunately, penalties for unethical actions have prompted intruders to new methods. Now they’re using these old-fashioned tricks, but under the guise of reputable companies, so users don’t know they’re being robbed.

Why Do People Use Black Hat SEO?

Back SEO works as follows: intruders find the site, which has already taken some positions in the network, gained a good reputation, and recruited customers who trust him and seem quite reliable. Then they take over this site and clone it, using domain spoofing. Then they use the tactic of black SEO on their copy. Despite the mentioned improvements in search engines, they still fall into some methods of black SEO, but only temporarily – for a couple of days. After that, the search engine sees and banishes the attacker, but it may be too late. For prominent business executives, black SEO scams can cost them reputation, loss of traffic, and reduced visitors. Worst of all, before these attacks are detected, some users will already be victims of these intruders.

Reduce the Chances of Customers Visit a Cloned Website

Black SEO has devastating effects on companies and their websites. To warn yourself against this and thus reduce the risk of falling for the ruse of intruders, you need to take the following measures:

1. Install a TLS Certificate

A Transport Layer Security, or TLS, certificate is a digital protocol that secures websites and establishes an encrypted connection between the website and the user’s browser. The protocol authenticates a website’s identity and allows users to see the HTTPS prefix and certificate in their domain URL. This gives users confidence that their data will be kept private and secure.

2. Secure Your Source Code

Developers need to add security measures to a website. One option is to disable the copy-paste function so attackers can’t easily access the website’s source code. Otherwise, if the source code is successfully stolen, the attacker gets access to the site, can clone it and nourish the owner of any reputation.

3. Remain Proactive

Companies need security teams to monitor their domain and website traffic for any suspicious activity. By implementing data handling procedures and risk management strategies, companies can better identify and defend against threats.

4. Use the rel-canonical Tag.

Search engines can easily detect duplicate pages through slight alterations in URLs. For example, adding a rel-canonical tag to a site tells the engine which page is the original, making it harder for fraudsters to spoof the website.

5. Study Your Website Analytics

Scammers can clone websites to steal easy wins. While they may not take the time to change all internal links, visitors can still navigate to the original domain. Additionally, you can check your website’s analytics to see if any incoming traffic comes from domain names similar to your original site.

Building many internal links on your website has the added benefit of making it easier to find duplicate sites. This is because duplicate sites are more likely to be discovered if they have a lot of external links pointing to them.

Restoring Your Reputation After a Spoof

The advice given above may warn you against an alleged attack. But what if the fraudsters did manage to harm your site and were able to steal some of your data? Below we will look at a few steps to restore your reputation and recreate your trademark.

• Address the Situation Publicly

Don’t try to hide your situation; report it publicly. Report that you are aware of the damage done to your reputation and diligently dealing with the problem. You can also post whether to record a video on YouTube or Instagram in which you apologize for the inconvenience caused to your users. Finally, publicly admit some of the blame for the security negligence and make it clear to your users that you will do everything in your power.

• Remove Fake Reviews

People may add fake online reviews to increase the perceived legitimacy of their fake websites. As a result, asking search engines like Google to remove these reviews is beneficial. Additionally, asking third-party review platforms like Trustpilot to remove these reviews can be helpful.

• Communicate Openly About Your Policies

Let people know when they need to expect two-factor authentication. For example, they may think they’re on a phishing site if they don’t receive a request on their phone or email. Additionally, let people know if you have any other policies related to communication with customers.

Black hat SEO is sneaking a site past search engines to trick users. As a result, it can steal money from users and businesses, making it a problem everyone should watch out for.

The post Black Hat SEO: Is Someone Phishing With Your Site Domain? appeared first on Gridinsoft Blog.

Twilio Data Breach

Twilio, the provider of voice and SMS notification services for various purposes, turned out to be hacked on Thursday, August 4. The incident was uncovered four days later, on August 8th. As the company serves over 150,000 companies, it is pretty clear that “some customers” they mention in their official note as exposed are much more than a dozen. According to the company’s statements, it stores the data about physical and IP addresses, payment details, proof of identity and email addresses. Not very pleasant, but not critical either.

Twilio discloses a breach. Via @CarlyPage_ https://t.co/bJxCLp5n8G

— Brett Callow (@BrettCallow) August 8, 2022

The way hackers broke into Twilio is a timeless classic – the SMS spam messages. They reportedly mimic the Okta secure access notification. The latter serves a lot of companies as secure single-sign-on services provider. It is funny that Okta itself was struck by a similar phishing scam earlier this year. In the case of Twilio, several employees received a message that offered them to log in again as their past token has expired. The link in the message was spoofed and led to the site controlled by crooks, although it looked like a legit page.

Phishing attacks keep going

Corporate-scale phishing attacks happen pretty frequently these days, but no one expected that it would touch tech giants so often. Okta, Twilio – these names are ranked at the top of both the tech community and stock market. And users are usually pretty susceptible to the cases when the company loses their data, either individuals or other corporations. Threat actors who commence these attacks act very organised and consistent in their actions. This characteristic is typical for ransomware gangs, but not for phishing actors.

Any corporation, regardless if it was attacked or not, should work out a response to this kind of threat. That could be the instruction for employees about how to recognise the scam messages, as well as advanced restrictions on data access. Overall, the preventive measures are in priority, as they do not give the crooks a chance. The situation with such famous companies shows that the overall cybersecurity awareness remains at an unacceptable level. Such phishing attacks may lead not only to data breaches but also to ransomware attacks and APT deployment. And in case of the latter, it will be much harder to detect the case.

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Types of Spoofing Attacks

For attacks to be successful, hackers can spoof many things: an IP address, a web page, a phone number, a login form, a GPS location, an email address, a text message, and even a face. Some of these actions rely on human error, while others rely on the use of hardware or software flaws. Of all the scenarios that fit the form of a spoofing attack, the following are the most common these days.

1. ARP Spoofing

This is a reasonably common man-in-the-middle attack technique. The cybercriminal fills the local network with forged Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets, thus disrupting the normal traffic routing process. This intervention aims to map an adversary’s MAC address to the IP address of the target LAN’s default gateway. As a result, all traffic is redirected to the attacker’s computer before reaching its destination. In addition, the attacker can change the data before forwarding it to the actual recipient or interrupt all network communications. ARP spoofing can also serve as a launching pad for DDoS ² attacks.

2. MAC Spoofing

In theory, every network adapter inside a connected device should have its own unique Media Access Control (MAC) address that cannot be found anywhere else. In practice, however, a clever hacker can change this. Using the shortcomings of some hardware drivers, an attacker can modify or spoof the MAC address. Thus, he masquerades as the device registered in the target network to bypass traditional access limiting mechanisms. In this way, he can impersonate a trusted user and perpetrate fraud such as business email compromise (BEC), data theft, or placement of malware in a digital environment.

3. IP Spoofing

In this case, the attacker sends Internet Protocol packets with a falsified source address. In this way, he hides the real online identity of the sender of the packet and thus pretends to be another computer. Also, IP spoofing³ is often used to launch DDoS attacks. It is difficult for the digital infrastructure to filter such fraudulent packets, given that each one comes from a different address, which allows the scammers to simulate legitimate traffic convincingly. In addition, this method allows bypassing authentication systems that use a device’s IP address as an important identifier.

4. DNS Cache Poisoning (DNS Spoofing)

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a kind of telephone book for the Internet. It turns familiar domain names into IP addresses that browsers understand and use to load web pages. Attackers can distort this mapping technology using the known weaknesses of DNS server caching. As a result, the victim risks navigating to a malicious copy of the intended domain. This is a good basis for phishing attacks that look very plausible.

5. Email Spoofing

Basic email protocols are pretty vulnerable and can provide an attacker with some opportunities to distort specific attributes of a message. One common vector of this attack is to change the header of an email. As a result, the sender’s address (displayed in the “From” field) appears to be real when in fact, it is not. A hacker can take advantage of this mismatch and impersonate a trusted person, such as a senior executive, colleague, or contractor. Often the BEC mentioned above scams rely on this exploitation, resorting to the use of social engineering and manipulation so that the victim, without thinking, allows a fraudulent bank transfer to take place. The purpose of email spoofing is precisely to deceive the user, not to be declassified.

6. Website Spoofing

A scammer may try to trick a victim into going to an “exact copy” of the website they usually use. Unfortunately, hackers are getting better and better at mimicking the layout, branding, and login forms. And in combination with the DNS mentioned above spoofing technique, it will be tough to find the trick. Still, website spoofing is not a perfect scheme. For maximum effect, you should send a phishing email to the victim, which will prompt the recipient to click on the malicious link. Usually, criminals use such a scheme to steal authentication data or spread malware which then gives them a backdoor into the corporate network. Also, URL spoofing can lead to identity theft.

7. Caller ID Spoofing

This is a rather old scheme, but it is still sometimes used today. In this scheme, the attacker uses loopholes in the functioning of telecommunications equipment, thereby fabricating data about the caller, which the victim sees on his phone screen. In addition to pranks, the attacker can use such techniques to forge the caller ID by posing as someone the victim knows or as a representative of a company with which the victim cooperates. Sometimes to increase the chances that the victim will answer the call, the information displayed on the smartphone display will include a well-known brand logo and physical address. This type of spoofing attack aims to get the victim to reveal personal information or pay non-existent bills.

8. Text Message Spoofing

Unlike the previous method, this one is not always used for fraudulent purposes. Today, this method is used by companies to interact with their customers. It replaces the traditional phone number with an alphanumeric string (for example, the company name) and sends text messages. Unfortunately, scammers can also use this technology as a weapon. One variation on the text-message spoofing scam involves the scammer substituting the SMS sender’s identifier for a brand name the recipient trusts. This impersonation scheme can be the basis for targeted phishing, identity theft, and the increasing frequency of gift card scams targeting organizations.

9. File Extension Spoofing

Windows systems, by default, hide file extensions to streamline user experience. However, this feature also provides an opportunity for cybercriminals to distribute malware more easily. They often employ double extensions to mask a dangerous executable file as a harmless one. For instance, a file named Resume.docx.exe will misleadingly display as a standard Word document. Thankfully, most security programs actively detect such deceptions and alert users before they open these potentially harmful files.

10. GPS Spoofing

Today, users increasingly rely on geolocation services to avoid traffic jams or get to their destination. Unfortunately, cybercriminals may trick a target device’s GPS receiver into preventing it from working correctly. National states can use GPS spoofing to avoid gathering intelligence and sometimes even sabotage other countries’ military installations. But businesses can also use it to their advantage. For example, a competitor can interfere with the navigator in the car of a CEO who is rushing to an important meeting with a potential business partner. As a result, the victim will make a wrong turn, get stuck in traffic, and be late for the meeting. This could interfere with a future deal.

11. Facial Spoofing

Facial recognition is now the basis of numerous authentication systems and is rapidly expanding. In addition to unlocking gadgets, the face could become a critical authentication factor for future tasks such as signing documents or approving wire transfers. Cybercriminals are bound to look for and exploit weaknesses in the Face ID implementation chain. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy to do so now. For example, security analysts have demonstrated a way to fool the Windows 10 Hello facial recognition feature with an altered, printed user photo. Fraudsters with enough resources and time can detect and exploit such imperfections.

How to Avoid Spoofing?

Here are the main signs that you are being spoofed. If you encounter any of these, click “Close”, click the “Back” button, and close the browser.

• There is no padlock symbol or green bar next to the address bar. All secure authoritative websites must have an SSL certificate. The third-party CA has verified that the web address belonging to the entity is verified. But it is worth noting that SSL certificates are now free and easy to obtain. So even though there may be a padlock on the site, it does not guarantee that it is the real deal. Just remember, nothing on the Internet is 100 percent safe.
• The site does not use file encryption. HTTP, aka Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is long obsolete. Legitimate websites always use HTTPS, an encrypted version of HTTP, when transmitting data back and forth. If you are on a login page and see “HTTP” instead of “HTTPS” in your browser’s address bar, think carefully before you type anything.
• Use a password manager. It will automatically fill in your login and password log to any legitimate website that you save in your password vault. But in case you go to a phishing site, your password manager will not recognize the site and will not fill in the username and password fields for you – a clear sign that you are being spoofed.

How to Minimize the Risks of Spoofing Attacks?

The following tips will help you to minimize the risk of becoming a victim of a spoofing attack:

• Turn on your spam filter. This will protect your mailbox from most fake newsletters.
• Do not click on links or open email attachments if they come from an unknown sender. If there is a chance that the email is legitimate, contact the sender through another channel to verify that it is legitimate.
• Log in via a separate tab or window. For example, if you receive an email or message with a link asking you to do something, such as log in to your account or verify your information, do not click the link provided. Instead, open another tab or window and go directly to the site. You can also sign in through the app on your phone or tablet.
• Call back. If you receive a suspicious email, presumably from someone you know, call or write to the sender to be sure they sent the email. This is especially true if the sender makes an unusual request: “Hi, this is your boss. Can you buy ten iTunes gift cards and email them to me? Thank you.”
• Show file extensions in Windows. You can change this by clicking the “View” tab in Explorer, then checking the box to show file extensions. This will in no way prevent crooks from spoofing file extensions, but you will be able to see the spoofed extensions and not open those malicious files.
• Use a good antivirus program. For example, suppose you click on a dangerous link or attachment. In that case, a good antivirus program can warn you about the threat, stop the download, and prevent malware from entering your system or network. The most important rule is to remain vigilant. Always watch where you’re going, what you’re clicking on, and what you’re typing.

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Massive outbreak of extension spoofing in email spam

Email spam is a form of malware spreading that became very popular at the edge of the current decade. It was used earlier as well, but with a much smaller scale. This spreading way may fit different needs – from massive spamming without target selection to spear phishing against the corporation employees. In modern practices, email spam usually contains something that makes the victim believe in the legitimacy of this letter. Background similar to the one used by FedEx, some routine patterned words about the incoming delivery – and voila – user believes you. After gaining your trust, they will try to trick you into following the link, or opening the attached file – the latter usually contains malware. The former, however, may lead the victim to the phishing page, or to the exploit site, where crooks will try to install malware.

Hence, if attaching the malware was not something new – what is the reason to wonder about the new wave? Hundreds of them happen each day, so they do not look like something worth attention. The peculiar item about those attacks is that they apply the use of extension spoofing techniques in order to disguise the attached file. That approach was not seen for a long time – but it popped up, again.

What is extension spoofing?

Extension spoofing is a trick with file names that visually changes the file format. It is based on Windows default settings of file extension display. By default, you see only the filenames – without extensions. When you spectate the opened folder in a list view mode, you’d likely fail to see the file icons. Therefore, you can add the extension you want to the end of your file, but in fact leaving it unchanged.

For example, you can make the batch script file and name it as “tuxedo-cat.png.bat”. Users will see it as “tuxedo-cat.png”, but in fact it will be the batch file that will run as soon as you’d try to open it. Moreover, low-skill users may easily miss the second extension, thinking that the first one is original. That trick is very old, but still effective – especially with the latest visual updates in Windows.

Who is under attack?

Most of the spectated cases appear in Spanish-speaking countries. Users from Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and, exactly, Spain reported the appearance of routinely looking emails with attached files. The latter had the naming like “confiromidad entrega material ].xlsx.exe or “resumenes info socioeco.xlsx.exe”. As you can see, the extension spoofing there has its easiest form – the one you can uncover by just seeing the detailed information about the file. However, the victims were tricked by the file names – they were too similar to the documents you work with everyday.

In those files, the coin miner virus is hiding. When you are trying to open this file, thinking it is legit, you will see no effects. But in the background, malware starts its nasty job. Coin miners, as you can suppose by the name, exploit your hardware to mine cryptocurrencies. Contrary to legit miners that you can install these do not let you to set how much hardware power they can use. You will see your CPU and GPU overloaded, so the PC will be barely operable.

How to prevent extension spoofing and email spam?

There is not a lot you can do about the exact email spam. Mailing will be possible until you have an active email account. However, you can do a lot to make the spam much less relevant and thus less believable.

Extension spoofing is much easier to prevent. There are techniques which allow the crooks to mask the file in a more reliable way, but they are rarely used these days. Most cases can easily be mirrored with simple diligence.

Use anti-malware software.There is no more effective and easy way to mirror the malware attack than using the anti-malware solution. It is capable of monitoring the incoming files even before you’d try to open it. Hence, cybercriminals who apply these tricks will have no chance.

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]]> https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/extension-spoofing-spanish-speakers/feed/ 0 8348 https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/dns-spoofing/ https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/dns-spoofing/#respond Mon, 30 May 2022 10:42:33 +0000 https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/?p=8180 What is DNS Spoofing? DNS (Domain name server) spoofing or DNS cache poisoning is a type of cyberattack used by an attacker to direct the victim’s traffic to a malicious website (instead of a legal IP address). Attackers use DNS cache poisoning to redirect Internet traffic and steal sensitive information. For example, a hacker wants… Continue reading DNS Spoofing: Key Facts, Meaning

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]]> What is DNS Spoofing?

DNS (Domain name server) spoofing or DNS cache poisoning is a type of cyberattack used by an attacker to direct the victim’s traffic to a malicious website (instead of a legal IP address). Attackers use DNS cache poisoning to redirect Internet traffic and steal sensitive information.

For example, a hacker wants to trick users into entering personal information on an insecure site. How does he do that? By poisoning the DNS cache. The hacker spoofs or replaces the DNS data for a specific site and redirects the victim to the attacker’s server instead of the legitimate server. In this way, the hacker achieves his goal because he has many opportunities: he can commit a phishing attack, steal data or even inject malware into the victim’s system.

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How Does DNS Spoofing Work?

Before talking about DNS cache poisoning, let’s first remember what DNS and DNS caching are. DNS is a worldwide directory of IP addresses and domain names. DNS pairs user-friendly addresses, such as facebook.com, into IP addresses, such as 157.240.22.35, that computers use on the network. DNS caching is a system for storing addresses on DNS servers worldwide. To speed up the processing of your DNS requests, developers have created a distributed DNS system. Each server keeps a list of available DNS records called a cache. If the DNS server closest to you does not have the required IP address, it queries the higher DNS servers until the address of the website you are trying to get to is not found. Your DNS server then saves this new record in your cache to get a response faster next time.

Unfortunately, DNS has several security flaws that attackers can exploit and insert forged Internet domain address records into the system. Typically, criminals send fake responses to the DNS server. The server then replies to the user who made the request, and at the same time, the legitimate servers will cache the fake record. Once the DNS cache server stores the fake pair, all subsequent requests for the compromised record will get the server’s address controlled by the attacker.

DNS Spoofing Techniques Can Include:

• Man in the middle (MITM) – The cybercriminal intercepts the traffic and passes it through his system, collecting information as he goes or redirects it elsewhere.
• DNS server compromise – directly hijacking the DNS server and configuring it to return a malicious IP address.

Cybercriminals can easily compromise DNS responses while remaining undetected due to security vulnerabilities in specific web applications and the lack of proper authentication of DNS records. Let’s take a closer look at them:

Lack of Verification and Validation

DNS has a first trust structure that does not require IP validation to verify before sending a response. Because DNS resolvers do not validate data in the cache, an invalid entry remains until it is manually deleted or the TTL expires.

Recursive DNS Resolver Vulnerability

When recursive querying is active, the DNS server receives the request and does all the work of finding the correct address and sending the response to the user. If it does not have a record in its cache, it will query other DNS servers until it gets the address and returns it to the user. Enabling recursive querying presents a security vulnerability that attackers can exploit to poison the DNS cache.

As the server looks for the address, the attacker can intercept the traffic and provide a fake response. The recursive DNS server will send the response to the user and simultaneously store the spoofed IP address in its cache.

No Encryption

Typically, the DNS protocol is not encrypted, making it easier for attackers to intercept its traffic. In addition, servers do not have to verify the IP addresses to which they route traffic. Hence they cannot determine whether it is genuine or spoofed.

How to Prevent DNS Spoofing?

Real-time monitoring of DNS data can help identify unusual patterns, user actions, or behaviors in traffic, such as visiting malicious sites. And while detecting DNS cache poisoning is difficult, there are several security measures companies and service providers can take to prevent it. Some measures to prevent DNS cache poisoning include using DNSSEC, disabling recursive queries, and more.

The Limit of The Trust Relationships

One of the vulnerabilities of DNS transactions is the high trust relationship between different DNS servers. Therefore, servers do not authenticate the records they receive, allowing attackers to send fake responses from their illegitimate servers.

To prevent attackers from exploiting this flaw, security groups should limit the level of trust their DNS servers have with others. Configuring DNS servers to not rely on trust relationships with other DNS servers makes it difficult for hackers to use a DNS server to compromise records on legitimate servers. There are many tools available to check for DNS security threats.

Use the DNSSEC protocol

Because Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) uses public-key cryptography to sign DNS records, it adds validation and allows systems to determine whether an address is valid or not. This prevents forgery by verifying and authenticating requests and responses.

In regular operation, the DNSSEC protocol associates a unique cryptographic signature with other DNS information, such as CNAME and A records. The DNS resolver then uses this signature to authenticate the DNS response before sending it to the user.

Security signatures ensure that a legitimate source server validates responses to requests that users receive. Although DNSSEC can prevent DNS cache poisoning, it has drawbacks such as complex deployment, data provisioning, and zone enumeration vulnerabilities in earlier versions.

Use The Latest DNS and BIND Versions Software

Beginning with version 9.5.0 BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) includes enhanced security features such as cryptographically secure transaction identifiers and port randomization, which minimizes the chance of DNS cache poisoning. It is also important that the IT staff keeps it up to date and ensures that it is the latest and safest version. Here are some more useful tips to help prevent DNS cache poisoning.

• Configure the DNS server to respond is exclusively related to the requested domain.
• Make sure that the cache server only stores data related to the requested domain.
• Forced to use HTTPS for all traffic.
• Disable the DNS Recursive queries.

DNS cache poisoning causes domain users to be redirected to malicious addresses. In addition, some attacker-controlled servers can trick unsuspecting users into downloading malware or providing passwords, credit card information, and other confidential information. To prevent this, it is essential to use reliable security methods.

READ RELATED CONTENT

IP spoofing: What is IP Spoofing Attack? Spoofing is a type of cybercrime whose method is to impersonate another computer or network in the form of an ordinary user to convince the user of the reliability of the source of information.

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]]> https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/dns-spoofing/feed/ 0 8180 https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/ip-spoofing/ https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/ip-spoofing/#respond Fri, 27 May 2022 13:00:48 +0000 https://gridinsoft.com/blogs/?p=8155 Among other types of attack, IP spoofing stands out for its simple yet graceful design. This is, exactly, what goes for its long life and widespread application throughout decades. Let’s see how this attack works, and where the hackers can use it. What is IP Spoofing? IP spoofing is a type of cyberattack where the… Continue reading IP Spoofing Attack: Explanation & Protection

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]]> Among other types of attack, IP spoofing stands out for its simple yet graceful design. This is, exactly, what goes for its long life and widespread application throughout decades. Let’s see how this attack works, and where the hackers can use it.

What is IP Spoofing?

IP spoofing is a type of cyberattack where the attacker forces the server to think that a package sender is a completely different system. Hackers mostly use this approach to launch DDoS attacks or, in rare cases, to intercept the connection. The latter is a basic part of the attack called Man-in-the-Middle. As a fact, IP spoofing was among the first methods to launch a DDoS attack.

Depending on the network protocol targeted by the attack vector, there are several types of spoofing: IP-, ARP-, DNS-, MAC-, and GPS-spoofing. There, however, I will review only IP spoofing

What is IP Address Spoofing?

Keyword: Internet Protocol (IP) is a network protocol that does not establish a connection (working on layer 3 (network) of the OSI model), meaning no transaction status information is used to route packets over the web. In addition, there is no method to ensure the correct delivery of the package to the destination.

IP spoofing is the renumbering IP addresses in packets sent to the attacking server. The sending packet specifies the address that the recipient trusts. As a result, the victim receives the data that the hacker needs. You can completely exclude the spoofing by comparing the sender’s MAC and IP addresses. However, this type of spoofing can be helpful. For example, hundreds of virtual users with false IP addresses were created to test resource performance.

How Does This Attack Work?

Any attack works according to some scheme, thanks to which it develops its identical structure of actions. For example, below we have a rule present in all Internet protocols:

All data that is transmitted between computer networks is divided into packets. Each package have its IP headers, which include the source IP address and the destination IP address.

What’s a cybercriminal doing with all this? It starts to change the IP addresses it compiles so that the recipient will think the sending is coming from a reliable source. These operations take place on a network level, so there are no signs on the surface. The spoofing process falsifies the sender’s address to convince the remote system that it receives the address from an objective source.

Types of IP spoofing

To understand how to prevent your data from IP spoofing attacks, you need to know and understand the types of these attacks, how they manifest or not, and their purpose. There are several variants of attacks that successfully use this trick.

• Masking Botnet devices
  Sometimes IP spoofing can penetrate the computer by using botnets. Botnets are a network of hacked computers that the attacker controls remotely. Unfortunately, tracking the bot is not as easy as you would like. So instead, disguise it under a fake IP address.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
  IP spoofing is used in one of the most complex attacks for protection – «denial in maintenance» or DDoS. Because hackers deal only with bandwidth and resource consumption, they do not need to worry about the correct completion of transactions. Instead, they want to flood the victim with as many packets as possible in a short period. It is almost impossible to quickly block it when involved in an attack by several hacked “hosts” accepting all sent fake traffic.
  
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• Man in the middle Attacks
  They are also known as the attack type «man in the middle» (MITM). In these attacks, the attacker intercepts communication between two users. The cybercriminal then manages the traffic and can eliminate or modify the information sent by one of the original IP addresses without knowing the original sender or the recipient. Thus, the attacker can deceive the victim by revealing confidential information by «substitution» of the identity of the original sender, whom the recipient supposedly trusts.

How to Detect IP spoofing

It is almost impossible to notice a submenu IP address because the submenu occurs on a network level and connections often look like legitimate requests. So there are no external signs. But not all are unsuccessful! Network monitoring tools make it possible to do traffic analysis at endpoints. It would also be appropriate for such attacks to do packet filtering; what would it do? These package systems located in the firewall and routers find a discrepancy between the required IP address and the IP addresses of the packets specified in the ACL (access control list), so it is possible to find an attacker on the network.

Package filters control:

• Physical interface from where the package came;
• IP and (IP – source addresses);
• IP and (IP – destination addresses);
• Transport level type (TCP, UDP, ICMP);
• Transport ports of origin and destination.

Let’s look at two types of packet filtering:

• Egress filtering – reviews outgoing packets for source addresses that do not match organizations’ IP addresses in the network. This type of filtering prevents the launch of IP address substitution attacks by insiders.
• Ingress filtering. This type of filtering monitors whether the outgoing IP address of the header corresponds to the allowed IP address and rejects all non-conforming packets.

How to Protect Against IP Address Spoofing Attack?

The main measures that minimize the possibility of such attacks include:

• Router filtering;
• Encryption and authentication (will reduce the likelihood of spoofing);
• Robust verification methods;
• Network monitoring;
• Using firewall (protects your network, filters traffic with fake IP addresses, blocks access of unauthorized strangers);

If you follow the precautions mentioned above and understand why spoofing attacks are used, you can protect your network from malicious hacking and data theft.

You know that protecting against spoofing attacks and other online threats is an important mandatory step for users. Protect yourself from spoofing attacks. Take back control of your privacy with Gridinsoft Anti-Malware, the best antivirus software available. Definitely the best scanner, detector and removal of spoofing attacks. There are enough reasons to choose Gridinsoft Anti-Malware as the solution to your PC problems right now.

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