Source URL: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/10/08/file-hosting-services-misused-for-identity-phishing/
Source: Microsoft Security Blog
Title: File hosting services misused for identity phishing
Feedly Summary: Since mid-April 2024, Microsoft has observed an increase in defense evasion tactics used in campaigns abusing file hosting services like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Dropbox. These campaigns use sophisticated techniques to perform social engineering, evade detection, and compromise identities, and include business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
The post File hosting services misused for identity phishing appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:** The text describes a trend where threat actors misuse file hosting services like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Dropbox for phishing campaigns, employing advanced defense evasion techniques to compromise identities and facilitate business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Microsoft provides an overview of these tactics, emphasizing the need for enhanced security measures and mitigation strategies to protect enterprise accounts.
**Detailed Description:**
The text highlights significant issues in cybersecurity regarding the misuse of legitimate file hosting services. As more organizations rely on platforms like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Dropbox for collaboration, attackers leverage these services to conduct sophisticated phishing campaigns, ultimately aiming to compromise users’ identities and perpetrate various attacks, including financial fraud and data exfiltration.
Key points include:
– **Risk of Legitimate Services:** The increasing use of trusted file hosting services makes them attractive to threat actors. By exploiting the natural trust users have in these platforms, attackers can deliver malicious files and links that often evade detection.
– **Sophisticated Attack Techniques:**
– *Phishing Campaigns:* These campaigns commonly follow a specific attack chain involving compromised identities, wherein attackers leverage files with restricted access to mislead users.
– *Defense Evasion Tactics:* Recent tactics involve sending files set to view-only mode, meaning they can’t be downloaded or analyzed by traditional security tools, making detection more challenging.
– **Evolving Attack Patterns:** The document details how attackers often tailor their phishing attempts using familiar topics, urgency, or impersonating trusted contacts to make their lures more convincing. Typical examples include file names that relate to current projects or urgent issues.
– **Mitigation Strategies Recommended by Microsoft:**
– Implement *Conditional Access Policies* to evaluate sign-in requests using various identity-driven signals.
– Enable *Multi-Factor Authentication* and consider adopting *passwordless sign-in options* to bolster identity security.
– Activate *network protection* and leverage advanced threat detection solutions like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to monitor unauthorized access attempts.
– Educate users about secure file sharing and reinforce the importance of skepticism regarding emails from trusted vendors.
– **Detection Mechanisms:** The text outlines various queries and alerts within Microsoft Defender XDR that organizations can use to audit potential compromise events related to file sharing activities, focusing on suspicious sign-ins and unusual user interactions with shared files.
– **Community and Intelligence Sharing:** Microsoft emphasizes the importance of collaboration among companies and the security community, encouraging the sharing of threat intelligence to bolster defenses against these evolving threats.
This analysis indicates a clear call to action for organizations to reassess their cybersecurity posture, particularly regarding security measures related to collaboration tools and identity protection, in light of these emerging threats.