Safely Analyzing Phishing Emails with Trusted Tools
Have you ever felt that sinking feeling when you realize you might have just opened a phishing email? Welcome to the club! š£ Itās like a rite of passage in the digital age.
If you havenāt been targeted by at least one phishing attack, are you even really using the internet? š¤
But donāt worry, Iāve got you covered. Letās dive into my personal toolkit for safely analyzing those pesky phishing emails ā because who doesnāt love to be prepared?
MITRE ATT&CK Framework Exploration š£š
Phishing: T1566
Sub-techniques: T1566.001, T1566.002, T1566.003, T1566.004
According to the Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), phishing now makes up 44% of social engineering incidents. So, if youāve ever felt like youāre the only one getting those weird emails, fear not ā youāre definitely not alone in dealing with this modern digital menace!
Spotting Suspicious Emails
- Check the Senderās Email Address: Look closely at the senderās email address. Often, phishing emails use spoofed or slightly altered addresses that mimic legitimate ones.
- Look for Generic Greetings or Salutations: Phishing emails often use generic greetings like āDear Customerā instead of addressing you by name. Legitimate organizations usually personalize their communications.
- Verify Links Before Clicking: Hover your mouse over any links in the email (without clicking) to see the actual URL. Check for misspellings or strange domains that donāt match the organizationās website.
- Watch for Urgency or Threats: Phishing emails often create a sense of urgency, threatening consequences if you donāt act immediately. Be cautious of emails demanding urgent action.
- Review the Email Content for Errors: Phishing emails often contain grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or awkward language. Legitimate communications from reputable organizations are usually well-written and error-free. Although, with AI getting better at writing, this might not be as reliable as it used to be! š¤š§
- Be Cautious of Attachments: Avoid opening attachments from unknown senders or unexpected emails. They could contain malicious software or links.
So, here you are!
Alright, enough theory for now ā letās dive into the tools!
Email Header Analysis
Tools Utilized for Analysis: MX toolbox, Message Header Analyzer
The SMTP envelope header contains essential information about the emailās origin, including the IP address and domain of the sending server. This helps trace the physical source of the email, which can be critical in identifying the true sender in cases of spoofing or impersonation.
Depending on your email service or client, find the option to view message details or email headers. This is typically found under options like āView,ā āMore,ā or āMessage Details.ā
To analyze the SMTP envelope headers youāll need to copy the email headers and paste them into the MX toolbox.
Result:
For the standalone Message Header Analyzer, you also need to copy-paste the headers. However, it can also be installed as an Outlook add-in, making life easier by reducing the amount of copying and pasting you need to do. Letās be honest, anything that reduces the need for more copy-pasting is a win!
URLs Analysis
Tools Utilized for Analysis: Zulu ZScaler, Virus Total
Zscaler uses various techniques such as URL filtering, malware detection, SSL inspection, and sandboxing to analyze and mitigate potential threats in real-time.
VirusTotal is a free online service that analyzes files and URLs to detect viruses, worms, trojans, and other types of malicious content using multiple antivirus engines and URL scanners. VirusTotal leverages a large number of antivirus engines and URL scanners (currently over 70) from various cybersecurity companies. Each engine uses its own algorithms and virus definitions to detect malware. When a file or URL is submitted, VirusTotal distributes the content to these scanning engines simultaneously.
Result:
Attachments Analysis
Tools Utilized for Analysis: Virus Total, Hybrid Analysis
Analyzing attachments from phishing emails without downloading them directly to your local machine is crucial for maintaining security. Malicious attachments can contain harmful software that, once downloaded, can instantly infect your device. This malware can then spread across networks, potentially compromising multiple devices.
To safely analyze email attachments, consider using online analysis tools such as Virus Total or Hybrid Analysis. Alternatively, use a sandbox environment or virtual machine specifically designed for testing suspicious files, ensuring any potential threats are contained and isolated from your main system.
Another option is to use MD5Hash in combination with Virus Total search.
For instance, imagine you receive a sensitive document containing financial records via email. Before opening or sharing this file, you can calculate its MD5 hash locally. By submitting this hash to Virus Total, you can quickly determine if the document has been flagged as malicious by antivirus engines and security tools without exposing its contents.
Evaluating the Sending Domain Reputation
Tools Utilized for Analysis: CISCO Talos Intelligence
Assessing the reputation of the sending domain helps to determine the trustworthiness of the sender and can prevent potential phishing or malware attacks. By checking the sending domainās reputation, organizations can take proactive measures to block or filter out emails from these suspicious sources. Adding such blacklisted domains to the corporate networkās blocklist can further protect against known threats, ensuring that employees do not interact with potentially harmful emails.
Result:
Enhancing Email Security with S/MIME Certificates
To further protect yourself against phishing attacks, consider using S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) certificates. S/MIME provides a way to send and receive e2e encrypted and digitally signed emails, ensuring that the content of your emails remains confidential and tamper-proof.
S/MIME works by using a pair of cryptographic keys: a public key and a private key. The public key is shared with others to encrypt emails sent to you, while the private key is kept secure on your device to decrypt received emails.
Conclusion
By utilizing these tools and techniques, you can effectively analyze and mitigate phishing threats. From scrutinizing email headers to evaluating domain reputations and leveraging S/MIME certificates, every step enhances your security posture.
Stay safe and happy phishing-spotting! ššš« And donāt forget to report phishing attempts to your IT department or email provider to help others stay safe too.