How to Detect Malware in Email and Investigate Attacks
There has been an ever-increasing demand on how to detect malware in email communication. This is because the amount of email-based attacks has grown exponentially. According to some estimates, 1-1.4 % of all emails sent in a day are done so with ill intent. Even this small percentage brings the number of daily email malware attacks to a staggering 3.4 billion.
So whether you had an encounter with fake mail recently, investigating an ongoing issue, or simply using this write as a precautionary exercise we have effective strategies for everyone. Let’s first start by deconstructing the lifecycle of an email malware attack as this would help us understand the countermeasures later.
Modus Operandi of Malware Attack Via Email
Contrary to popular belief the email that traps people starts long before it becomes visible in their inbox.
It usually begins with a Pre-Attack Phase. Where a digital duplicate of the potential target is made, by collecting the primary email address, name, contact number, and organization.
This is the phase where the intent of the attack is decided, whether it is done to damage reputation, extract money, or something else entirely.
Although the malware part is reused it is not uncommon for attackers to make specific tweaks in the attack vector based on the victim’s behavior.
Sometime before the actual attack commences. Hackers set up the command and control (C2) servers. This might be the same or different from the actual email servers from where the attack happens.
The Attack Phase is the shortest but the most critical part of the email malware incident. It can be a bulk email or a highly specific one. Their main goal is to trick the target into opening attachments or clicking links.
Malware is not always about monetary gain sometimes adversaries may try to damage the reputation by using illicit imagery to put the victim on the wrong side of the law.
The attacks usually Prey on the ill-informed; that’s why Gmail, Outlook, and other popular email providers block the most small-scale attacks before they even reach your inbox. Is it possible to identify malware containing only by looking at it? It might be check out the next section for more details.
How to Detect Malware in Email through Visual Inspection?
The techniques hackers/scammers use have evolved. Yet there are still some hidden clues that remain consistent in any nefarious email. If a person knows how to identify those it can help to not only detect but also defeat the ill effects such attacks would have done.
Here is a list of questions you might ask yourself if you come face to face with any suspicious email that you want to investigate.
Ask yourself was this mail expected, and if so from whom. Sometimes internal moles may leak company secrets for a quick monetary gain. So even a genuine mail from an actual colleague may be an attack.
During the sender inspection keep a close eye on spellings, top-level domain, etc. Usually in most organizations, there is a premade sender/receiver list. Only accounts within this bubble can communicate with each other. However, hacked or leaked credentials are a way through which such security can be breached. That is why additional checks are required.
If you exchange emails with the person regularly (or if you are investigating someone else’s account check the emailing history) then you have a solid idea of how this person writes.
So if there is an abrupt change in style or a sudden request out of the blue means something is not right. Politely ask for an in-person meeting to clear things out. Refrain from clicking on any URLs or links present in the mail. Beware the free availability of LLMs makes it easy to mimic the writing style of anyone. Therefore, this just reading the mail is not as reliable as it used to be.
Last but not least, the presence of attachments is a high-risk factor. Some of the most suspicious email attachment formats are the ones that run a different program. Like executables, zip files, etc.
Want to Detect Email Malware Attacks Easily?
MailXaminer is all you require.
Despite being technologically savvy younger people are not completely immune to malware present online. Although a vast majority of victims in this age group are targeted via social media the tactics are eerily similar to those used in email malware attacks.
Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to use automated means of finding where such attacks originate from.
That is where this tool excels. With provisions to identify the suspicious/malicious nature of not only the email sender but also the URLs / Links present inside the messages.
Moreover, the tool smartly segregates the emails according to their content. It is able to do this with the help of a detailed list of pre-set tags. Investigators can manually alter the tags add/remove. The ability to process email evidence from more than 80 different providers simultaneously is another plus point. Next up we briefly describe how you can use this tool to perform the required email examination.
Steps to Detect Malware in Email Professionally
Step 1. Get a Copy of the tool.
Step 2. Make a New Case > Add New Email Evidence.
Step 3. Choose the Email source for malware detection.
Step 4. Ensure that you check the Malicious IP option and perform the rest of the steps accordingly.
Step 5. After the Evidence becomes visible Tool use the Search tab and Toggle List.
Step 6. With the help of the URL inspection feature, you can carry out the checks safely right from the Tool UI.
Step 7. Finally, complete other findings and make a thorough Report.
Conclusion
Now you know how to detect malware in email quickly and effectively. The native method proposed in this write works well for individual users. However, when investigators are conducting mass malware detection, they must use a tool that can keep up. The platform described here does just that. This brings the highly sophisticated URL, IP, and Attachment scanning capabilities in a singular gui-based toolkit. Use it to find exactly when and where the email malware attacks occur.