- A phishing campaign is exploiting the death of Queen Elizabeth II to steal Microsoft account credentials from victims.
- The victims sent a message claiming that Microsoft is launching an interactive AI memory board in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
- The National Cyber Security of the United Kingdom has warned people to be cautious about emails, messages, or any other communication tools concerning the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
The National Cyber Security of the United Kingdom warned about possible phishing activities and scams during the period of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. The hackers have lured victims to sites that steal their Microsoft account credentials.
“In memory of her majesty”
It seems that the hackers did not miss the opportunity of Queen Elizabeth II’s death as happens regularly with any event that has an impact globally for a phishing campaign. According to Proofpoint’s Threat Insight team, the hackers have been sending e-mails to people by impersonating Microsoft. The victims are invited to a site that looks like an “artificial technology hub” in the Queen’s honor.
Proofpoint identified a credential #phish campaign using lures related to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Messages purported to be from Microsoft and invited recipients to an “artificial technology hub” in her honor. pic.twitter.com/RCcqpgfFfX
— Threat Insight (@threatinsight) September 14, 2022
The message claims that Microsoft is launching an interactive AI memory board in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and invites the recipients to contribute to its creation by accessing it using their Microsoft account credentials. The message included links to a URL that redirected to a credential harvesting page. The page asks for Microsoft email credentials containing the MFA collection. The actor used the EvilProxy phish kit. EvilProxy is a man-in-the-middle phishing framework that offers an easy-to-use GUI where threat actors can set up and manage phishing campaigns.
The National Cyber Security of the United Kingdom has stated that they do not have extensive evidence of such campaigns yet. However, it warned about emails, text messages, and other communications related to the death of the Queen and arrangements for her funeral should be approached cautiously.