The American computer giant Microsoft announced on Thursday that it had obtained the blocking of sites linked to a cybercriminal network, after initiating legal action in the United States.
“Microsoft’s cybercrime unit seized 240 fraudulent sites linked to an Egypt-based cyberattack advisor,” the company said in a statement.
An individual targeted by Microsoft
Microsoft, which explained that it had initiated legal action before a court in Virginia (East), points to an individual named Abanoub Nady, whom it accuses of having sold ready-to-use hacking “kits” online since 2017.
The kits in question, sold mainly on Telegram, allowed mass emails to be sent that imitated Microsoft communications and encouraged recipients to click on fraudulent links.
“Numerous cybercriminals and individuals involved in online threats have purchased these kits and used them in large phishing campaigns to bypass security measures and gain access to users’ Microsoft accounts,” the company detailed.
Emails sent using this method represented “a significant portion” of the “tens of millions” of fraudulent emails seen by the company each month.
Thanks to a Virginia court decision, fraudulent sites have been made inaccessible.
The group specified that it had initiated this legal action before the Linux foundation, linked to the operating system of the same name. The organizer of the hacking kit sale used the name “ONNX”, a trademark registered by Linux, to sell its products.
If Microsoft hopes to send a “strong message” to cybercriminals, the company has clarified that it is aware that this measure would only have a temporary and limited effect on phishing, given the multiplication of methods and actors involved in cybercrime.
Source: BFM TV
