14 DAY TRIAL // A new email scam is attempting to threat the company's security as they are especially targeting executives and officials inside the firm, MessageLabs revealed a few days ago. The security vendor reported that it received no less than 514 messages in June, all of them addressed to the senior executives, in approximately two hours. On September 12 and September 13, MessageLabs captured a new avalanche of similar messages with the same target. This time, they were approximately 1,100 emails. But what's more interesting is that they all contained attached documents which claimed they included information about potential job candidates. If they were opened, the computers were infected with a Trojan able to steal sensitive information about the company.
"Why would somebody be targeting a CEO? It may be to steal intellectual property, it may be corporate espionage, it may be to get into the database. The how-to tutorials out there are getting better and better, and people need less and less technical skills. Such fears are unfounded. The agency is careful not to be disruptive, and it maintains strict confidentiality," Scott O'Neal, chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cyber intrusion section, said according to a press release published by MessageLabs.
The emails are quickly turning into a very dangerous way to exploit users' computers as the hackers are attempting to hack the systems using malicious files. This report published by MessageLabs is just one of the numerous examples because the attackers attach infected files which steal private information once they are installed.
Sure, you can always remain protected by ignoring the messages and avoid downloading attachments but when we're talking about a company, the need of checking email is more important. That's why the firms are always advised to protect the systems with well-developed technologies which could be able to filter malicious content targeting the inboxes.