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THE RISE OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING FRAUD IN BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE

By examining common social engineering tactics and four of the most devious
threat groups, organizations can better defend themselves.

Microsoft Security

March 6, 2024

4 Min Read



Social engineering is present in 90% of phishing attacks today. However,
business email compromise (BEC) attacks stand apart in the cybercrime industry
for their emphasis on social engineering and the art of deception. 

Part of what makes social engineering such a prominent part of BEC and other
types of phishing attacks is its ability to manipulate human levers to achieve a
desired outcome. Oftentimes, social engineers will create a false sense of
urgency, push victims into a heightened emotional state, or capitalize on
existing habits or routines in order to get their victims to behave in a way
that might otherwise be out of character.



By examining common social engineering tactics and prevalent threat groups,
organizations can better defend against these attack vectors.


4 THREAT ACTOR GROUPS TO MONITOR

Social engineers often target company executives, senior leadership, finance
managers, and human resources staff to gain access to sensitive information,
such as Social Security numbers, tax statements, or other personally
identifiable information. New employees, who may be more susceptible to
verifying unfamiliar email requests, are also at risk.



In order to help defend against BEC attacks, organizations need to stay up to
date on the latest threat intelligence and adversarial activity. Following are
four prominent threat groups that leverage social engineering and BEC to enact
harm.

 * Octo Tempest: This financially motivated collective of native
   English-speaking threat actors is known for launching wide-ranging campaigns
   that prominently feature adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) techniques, social
   engineering, and SIM-swapping capabilities. First spotted in early 2022, the
   group initially targeted mobile telecommunications and business process
   outsourcing organizations with SIM swaps. However, it has since partnered
   with ALPHV/BlackCat — a human-operated ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS)
   operation — to drive greater impact.

 * Diamond Sleet: In August 2023, Diamond Sleet conducted a software supply
   chain attack on German software provider JetBrains that compromised servers
   for software building, testing, and deployment processes. Because Diamond
   Sleet has successfully infiltrated build environments in the past, Microsoft
   assesses that this activity poses a particularly high risk to affected
   organizations.

 * Sangria Tempest: Also known as FIN, Sangria Tempest frequently targets the
   restaurant industry to steal payment card data. One of the group's most
   effective lures involves accusing restaurants of food poisoning by sending a
   malicious email attachment with further details. This Eastern European group
   uses underground forums to recruit native English speakers and train them on
   how to deliver the email lure. Sangria Tempest has successfully stolen tens
   of millions of payment card data through this process.

 * Midnight Blizzard: Midnight Blizzard is a Russia-based threat actor that
   primarily targets governments, diplomatic entities, nongovernment
   organizations (NGOs), and IT service providers across the US and Europe. The
   group leverages Teams messages to send lures that attempt to steal
   credentials from targeted organizations by engaging users and eliciting
   approval of multifactor authentication (MFA) prompts.




HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST SOCIAL ENGINEERING FRAUD

Social engineering is generally a long con. These types of attacks can take
months of planning and labor-intensive research as adversaries seek to build a
strong foundation of trust with their victims. Once this trust has been
established, social engineers can manipulate victims into taking certain actions
that would otherwise be out of character.



There are many ways that organizations can protect themselves against social
engineering fraud. First, employees should keep their personal and work accounts
separate. When people use their work email for personal accounts, threat actors
can take advantage by impersonating these programs and reaching out to gain
access to their corporate information. Organizations should also enforce the use
of MFA, as social engineers frequently target login credentials. However, it's
important to note that MFA is not a perfect solution. Attackers are increasingly
using SIM swapping to compromise phone numbers used for MFA. Organizations can
remediate this risk by using an authentication app to link MFA to a user's
device rather than their phone number.



Next, organizations should educate users on the danger of oversharing personal
information online. Social engineers need their targets to trust them for their
scams to work. If they can find personal details from an employee's social media
profile, they can use those details to help make their scams seem more
legitimate. 

Finally, secure company computers and devices with endpoint security software,
firewalls, and email filters. If a threat does make its way to a company device,
protection will be in place to help safeguard user information.

Ultimately, social engineers are constantly looking for new ways to make their
attacks more effective. By monitoring ongoing threat intelligence and ensuring
your defenses are up to date, organizations can better prevent social engineers
from using previously successful attack vectors to compromise future victims.

— Read more Partner Perspectives from Microsoft Security

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Microsoft Security

Microsoft

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eliminates security gaps so you can innovate and grow in a changing world. Our
integrated security, compliance, and identity solutions work across platforms
and cloud environments, providing protection without compromising productivity.

We help customers simplify the complex by prioritizing risks with unified
management tools and strategic guidance created to maximize the human expertise
inside your company. Our unparalleled AI is informed by trillions of signals so
you can detect threats quickly, respond effectively, and fortify your security
posture to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats.

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