According to MailGuard, a few days ago an email from our Prime Minister Scott Morrison started to do the rounds.
To the unsuspecting recipients, an email from the domain ’@pm.gov.au’ seems legitimate as does the sender ‘Hon Scott Morrison MP’. Of course, it's not actually from him but how would you know?
Here is the email screenshot:
Hackers will use any means necessary to illegally obtain your personal information or breach your organisation and wreak havoc. The email subject reads ’Here’s your download’ (not very PM like at all and the email message itself includes the obligatory photo of Scott Morrison, the heading of ‘Invitation from the Prime Minister of Australia’ a hyperlink named ’Invitation Letter.pdf’ that takes the curious clicker to a well-branded phishing site.
In hindsight, the red flags in the email are clear.
- Fake domain (@pm.gov.au is not real)
- Odd subject line not conducive to the sender
- Hovering over the .pdf hyperlink in the email will confirm it is indeed a trap
I'm sure most of us would take the opportunity to accept an invitation from our PM - regardless of our political views. This is exactly what the bad guys want us to do.
Examples like this, aimed fair and square at your people to lure them in to click on something they shouldn't and unwillingly hand over their personal data or in a moment of curiosity give the keys to your kingdom away to hackers.
The answer my friends is new-school security awareness training which ensures your employees receive up-to-date knowledge on the current threat landscape facing your organisation and industry.
Tools and Tips
- If (and when) you receive a suspicious email, report it straight away to your IT help desk to ensure it is properly investigated. Try not to do the knee jerk delete as your cyber pros will want to have a good look at it.
- Here is a great resource from about email red flags in our resource section you can share far and wide.
Check out Jacqueline's post on LinkedIn.
