Related Posts

Another security problem

I had hoped to move away from security blogging this week and focus on some other issues. But today I see that both CAUCE and John Levine are reporting that there is malware spam coming from a Cheetahmail customer.
Looking at what they shared, it may be that Cheetahmail has not been compromised directly. Given mail is only coming from one /29, which belongs to one customer it is possible that only the single customer account has been compromised. If that is the case, then it’s most likely one of the Cheetahmail users at the customer got infected and their Cheetahmail credentials were stolen. The spammer then gained access to the customer’s Cheetahmail account.  It’s even possible that the spammer used the compromised customer account to launch the mail. If this is the case, the spammer looked exactly like the customer, so most normal controls wouldn’t have noticed this was a spammer.
This highlights the multiple vectors these criminals are using to gain access to ESPs and the mailing systems they use. They’re not just trying to compromise the ESPs, but they’re also attempting to compromise customers and access their accounts so that the spammer can steal the ESPs hard won and hard fought sending reputation.
Everyone sending mail should be taking a long, hard look at their security. Just because you’re not an ESP doesn’t mean you aren’t a target or that you can get away with lax security. You are also a target.

Read More

Spammers, eh?

From my inbox, missed by the spamfilter:

Do you know people who have worked a lot or could not find a job for a long time and suddenly began to earn well, gain valuable items and look better?
We can reveal to you their secret.
Anyone who bought a diploma from us raised their standard of living in half!
Our diplomas are verified and credible. We offer expert help in selection of the right option and a short waiting time.
Don’t look at other – DO YOUR OWN SUCCESS!
—–
+ 1 – 646 – 555 – 1212
—–
We need your infarmation:
1) Your Name
2) Your Country
3) Telephone No. with a code of country if you are outside USA
Do Not Reply to this Email.
We do not reply to text inquiries, and our server will reject all response traffic.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
This is not a spam
If you don’t want to receive this message to your e-mail, call this number and refuse it – spell your e-mail

Read More

You've got to be kidding me

Earlier this week I received an email to a work address I retired 4 or 5 years ago. The from and subject lines alone were enough to make me laugh and decide I had to blog about this particular spammer.

Read More