Defensive consequences
North Korean threat actors have recently increased their attacks against LinkedIn. They take advantage of the platform’s professional atmosphere to provide malware in the form of fake job postings. This sophisticated approach has raised alarms among cybersecurity experts, who warn of the growing risks associated with social media platforms.
Attackers conveniently convince their victims to execute a harmful mission. Second, they do this by engaging them in code reviews, making any subsequent infiltration feel legitimate. That’s the problem with these actors, social engineering tactics are used to exploit trust cultivated in professional networking. This dramatically increases their likelihood of success.
More often than not, attackers employ DLL sideloading to deliver malware. This method makes it possible for the widespread adoption of families such as LOTUSLITE and PDFSIDER. These families of malware have been recently associated with several high-profile campaigns, including the infamous CryptoCore and Contagious Interview operations.
The Mechanics of the Attack
DLL sideloading is a technique whereby you take a legitimate open-source PDF reader application and sideload a malicious Dynamic Link Library (DLL). This technique allows the malicious code to operate while avoiding immediate detection. A standalone, portable executable (PE) of the Python interpreter usually gets packaged alongside this malicious payload. This addition only complicates detection efforts.
The attackers start their attack by emailing a malicious, decoy RAR file to potential victims. Buried within this file is the nefarious plot they would like the victim to carry out. As soon as the unsuspecting victim runs the project, the inserted malware is triggered, resulting in serious data breaches and information theft.
“Social media platforms commonly used by businesses represent a gap in most organizations’ security posture.” – ReliaQuest
This quote illustrates some of the vulnerabilities that cut across industries when it comes to corporation’s use (or misuse) of social media. As professionals increasingly rely on platforms like LinkedIn for networking and job searches, they inadvertently expose themselves and their organizations to cyber threats.
The Role of Social Media in Cybersecurity
Malicious use of social media has been around for a while. The stakes are getting higher as the bad guys are always evolving their tactics. According to cybersecurity experts, private messages on these platforms lack the visibility and security controls found in traditional email communications.
“Unlike email, where organizations tend to have security monitoring tools, social media private messages lack visibility and security controls, making them an attractive delivery channel for phishing campaigns.” – ReliaQuest
This failure of oversight creates an environment in which organizations cannot adequately see and stop these attacks or prevent them from happening in the first place. Attackers take advantage of the hidden nature of these interactions to bypass typical security controls. This leaves individuals and businesses at serious risk.
“Organizations must recognize social media as a critical attack surface for initial access and extend their defenses beyond email-centric controls.” – ReliaQuest
Organizations need to move their cybersecurity posture beyond the perimeter to defend against these constantly evolving threats. Organizations can accept that social media platforms frequently act as gateways for cyberattacks. By understanding the risks, they can take proactive measures to protect their information.
Challenges in Quantifying Threats
Given that the attacks are carried out through direct messages, the full extent of these attacks is still hard to gauge. Cybersecurity experts note that social media platforms are typically less monitored than email systems, complicating efforts to assess the impact of these threats.
“That said, because this activity plays out in direct messages, and social media platforms are typically less monitored than email, it’s difficult to quantify the full scale.” – ReliaQuest
This highlights why it’s important to have the most complete security available, one that spans all forms of communication. This is not the first time that North Korean threat actors have drastically changed their tactics. Through cunning social engineering techniques, they prey on gullible victims.
“This approach allows attackers to bypass detection and scale their operations with minimal effort while maintaining persistent control over compromised systems.” – ReliaQuest