Malspam 2016-09-30 (.doc) - campaign: "Receipt"
Malspam 2016-09-30 (.doc) - campaign: "Receipt"
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The provided information describes a malspam campaign dated September 30, 2016, identified as the "Receipt" campaign. This campaign involved the distribution of malicious emails containing Microsoft Word (.doc) attachments. Such malspam campaigns typically aim to trick recipients into opening the attached document, which often contains embedded malicious macros or exploits that can execute malware on the victim's system. However, the details given are minimal, with no specific technical indicators, exploit details, or malware behavior described. The campaign is classified as malware-related but lacks information on the malware family, infection vector specifics, or payload characteristics. The threat level is indicated as 3 (on an unspecified scale), and the severity is marked as low. There are no known exploits in the wild linked to this campaign, and no affected software versions or patches are referenced. Overall, this appears to be a low-severity malspam campaign using .doc attachments to deliver malware, relying on social engineering via email to induce user interaction.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the impact of this malspam campaign is generally limited but should not be dismissed. If successful, the malware delivered could lead to unauthorized access, data theft, or further network compromise depending on the payload, which is unspecified here. The low severity suggests limited or contained impact, possibly due to the malware's capabilities or the campaign's reach. However, European organizations often face targeted phishing and malspam threats, and even low-severity campaigns can serve as initial infection vectors for more severe attacks. The reliance on user interaction (opening a .doc file) means that organizations with strong email filtering, user awareness training, and macro execution restrictions are less likely to be impacted. Nonetheless, sectors with high email volumes and less mature security postures could experience infections leading to operational disruptions or data breaches.
Mitigation Recommendations
To mitigate this threat effectively, European organizations should implement targeted controls beyond generic advice: 1) Enforce strict email filtering rules to detect and quarantine suspicious attachments, especially .doc files from unknown senders. 2) Disable or restrict macro execution in Microsoft Office documents by default, allowing macros only from trusted sources. 3) Conduct regular, scenario-based phishing awareness training emphasizing the risks of opening unsolicited attachments labeled as receipts or invoices. 4) Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying malicious document behavior and blocking execution of unauthorized code. 5) Maintain up-to-date antivirus and antimalware signatures and heuristics to detect known malware variants delivered via such campaigns. 6) Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if an infection occurs. 7) Monitor email gateway logs for spikes in receipt-themed malspam to enable early detection and response.
Affected Countries
Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium
Malspam 2016-09-30 (.doc) - campaign: "Receipt"
Description
Malspam 2016-09-30 (.doc) - campaign: "Receipt"
AI-Powered Analysis
Technical Analysis
The provided information describes a malspam campaign dated September 30, 2016, identified as the "Receipt" campaign. This campaign involved the distribution of malicious emails containing Microsoft Word (.doc) attachments. Such malspam campaigns typically aim to trick recipients into opening the attached document, which often contains embedded malicious macros or exploits that can execute malware on the victim's system. However, the details given are minimal, with no specific technical indicators, exploit details, or malware behavior described. The campaign is classified as malware-related but lacks information on the malware family, infection vector specifics, or payload characteristics. The threat level is indicated as 3 (on an unspecified scale), and the severity is marked as low. There are no known exploits in the wild linked to this campaign, and no affected software versions or patches are referenced. Overall, this appears to be a low-severity malspam campaign using .doc attachments to deliver malware, relying on social engineering via email to induce user interaction.
Potential Impact
For European organizations, the impact of this malspam campaign is generally limited but should not be dismissed. If successful, the malware delivered could lead to unauthorized access, data theft, or further network compromise depending on the payload, which is unspecified here. The low severity suggests limited or contained impact, possibly due to the malware's capabilities or the campaign's reach. However, European organizations often face targeted phishing and malspam threats, and even low-severity campaigns can serve as initial infection vectors for more severe attacks. The reliance on user interaction (opening a .doc file) means that organizations with strong email filtering, user awareness training, and macro execution restrictions are less likely to be impacted. Nonetheless, sectors with high email volumes and less mature security postures could experience infections leading to operational disruptions or data breaches.
Mitigation Recommendations
To mitigate this threat effectively, European organizations should implement targeted controls beyond generic advice: 1) Enforce strict email filtering rules to detect and quarantine suspicious attachments, especially .doc files from unknown senders. 2) Disable or restrict macro execution in Microsoft Office documents by default, allowing macros only from trusted sources. 3) Conduct regular, scenario-based phishing awareness training emphasizing the risks of opening unsolicited attachments labeled as receipts or invoices. 4) Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying malicious document behavior and blocking execution of unauthorized code. 5) Maintain up-to-date antivirus and antimalware signatures and heuristics to detect known malware variants delivered via such campaigns. 6) Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if an infection occurs. 7) Monitor email gateway logs for spikes in receipt-themed malspam to enable early detection and response.
Affected Countries
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Technical Details
- Threat Level
- 3
- Analysis
- 0
- Original Timestamp
- 1475245622
Threat ID: 682acdbdbbaf20d303f0b84d
Added to database: 5/19/2025, 6:20:45 AM
Last enriched: 7/2/2025, 7:10:29 PM
Last updated: 8/14/2025, 2:44:40 AM
Views: 12
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