Unexpected Threat: Hackers Leveraging Snail Mail for Cyber Attacks
The Swiss National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has warned everyone about hackers using an old-fashioned method – “Snail Mail postal service” to distribute malware cyber-attack.
Cybercriminals are moving towards the traditional method of distributing malware, as per Swiss NCSC reported. The hackers are using the “Snail Mail” method for malware installation.
What is Snail Mail?
Snail mail is an old-fashioned way of sending letters by postal service. However, hackers are now using it as a method for malware cyberattacks. As per this latest cybersecurity news, these attacks are then used as starting points for new phishing cyberattacks.
First reported incident of snail mail:
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss and the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) are currently receiving reports on purportedly sent physical letters by MeteoSwiss.
These are the fake letters asking users to install a new severe weather app by scanning a QR code. However, there is no such federal app with the name mentioned. Rather, the QR code shown in the letter leads to the download of malware called ‘Coper’ (also known as ‘Octo2’). When the supposed ‘Severe Weather Warning App’ is installed, the malware attempts to steal sensitive data, such as access data from over 383 smartphone apps, including e-banking apps.
How to Identify the Malware?
The real Alertswiss app from the FOCP is used by federal and cantonal agencies to inform, warn, and alert the population. But as soon as the malware is downloaded, it will display the ‘AlertSwiss’ app on phones with the Android operating system. The spelling ‘AlertSwiss’ instead of ‘Alertswiss’ and, depending on the Android version, the app icon also differs from the real app (as for the fake app, rectangular logo in a white circle and round logo for the genuine app).
Targets of malware:
This malware mainly targets people and businesses within Switzerland. This malware only targets Android operating systems.
NCSC’s Advice on Malware Protection
The NCSC advised that if anyone has already downloaded the AlertSwiss app via QR code, they should reset their device to the factory setting. NCSC recommends ignoring such fake letters. And always download applications from trusted app stores like Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
