Weaponised PDFs a massive threat, says Barracuda Networks

KUALA LUMPUR: PDF files represent the highest volume of weaponised file types transmitted through observed attack surfaces due to their ability to be simply constructed and easily transmitted, said Barracuda Networks Inc.

According to Barracuda Security Insight, PDFs scanned in the last three months showed nearly 41 million were part of an attack.

The most sophisticated attacks with the highest efficacy are carried over embedded scripts, such as JavaScript (JS) and VisualBasic (VB).

Recent findings revealed that more than 75 per cent of these scripts are malicious. Scripts can be embedded in html or other document formats.

A sample of 70 million documents scanned in the last three months found more than 4.7 million to be malicious or suspicious.

Barracuda said compressed files were an increasingly popular way for criminals to transmit disguised attacks and hide non-malware infections, such as PowerShell (PS) scripts.

An example of this took place in September last year, when Barracuda detected and blocked a massive ransomware campaign with more than 27 million e-mails reaching customers in less than 24 hours.

These threat trends gathered by Barracuda Security Insight are expected to continue, with hackers making extensive use of weaponised file types to carry out massive attacks.

In the wake of the Equifax breach and other cybersecurity events, a massive trove of personally identifiable information (PII) for millions of consumers have been compromised.

Barracuda said it expected to see an increased use of this information for both mass phishing and targeted spear phishing attacks.

“Organisations often become aware of vicious cyberattacks after the damage has already been done,” said Barracuda technology senior vice-president Fleming Shi.

“By offering a free global advisory platform like Barracuda Security Insight, we can help heighten security awareness by proactively identifying the most current threats that should be on everyone’s radar. Those who use the platform can gain a better understanding of the threat landscape in real-time — an awareness that can lead to an overall improved security posture,” he said.