The State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony is currently warning against an increase of emails with fraudulent application content. These emails are explicitly directed at companies with advertised vacancies and endanger in particular personnel departments that are involved in application processes. The seriously formulated emails are attached with alleged application documents in the form of archive data. If these files are unpacked, however, no application documents are revealed, but rather dangerous malware that infects the system.
Secure data transfer with Hornetsecurity’s Content Filter
With Hornetsecurity’s Content Filter, effective protection measures can be taken against unwanted file attachments. In addition to the general protection provided by the spam and virus filter, individual settings for attachments of incoming and outgoing emails can be made within the content filter. Updating the content filter to version 2.0 now also checks nested archives. Defined rules can still be applied for the entire domain or for certain user groups. This allows particularly vulnerable groups in the company to be deliberately protected against current attacks.Easy setting – secure data transfer
The Content Filter offers an uncomplicated handling for the management of email attachments. Unwanted file formats, such as executable files, are grouped under the collective term .executable and can be selected from a predefined list with just a few clicks by the first time they are set up. Additional file formats that do not fall under one of the collective terms can be added if required. In addition, it is possible to individually configure the maximum permitted size for affected email attachments.
Fig. 1: Settings in the content filter for incoming emails
In case of application two actions can be set for handling the affected: Block email or cut attachment. In addition, encrypted Attachments, which are increasingly used in common formats such as PDF, ZIP, RAR etc., can be explicitly prohibited (Fig. 1). Furthermore, the content filter includes an automated comparison of file extensions with the supplied MIME type, which can differ significantly from the file extension in the case of suspicious email attachments. Archive Files that have internal nesting structures in the form of additional archives are analyzed and evaluated down to the security-relevant level.
If the content filter intervenes and removes a suspicious attachment, it changes the original state of the message. For signed emails, active intervention by the content filter causes the signature to be corrupted. If this occurs, the content filter informs the recipient and specifies whether the signature was valid before the change (Fig.2).
However, if the certificate of the signed email is available on our systems, the email whose signature was broken by truncating the file attachment is re-signed and thus retains its validity.
The content filter can be activated for all Hornetsecurity partners and customers in addition to the spam and virus filter.
Fig. 2: Valid signature after truncating the content
ATP – the interoperable complement for comprehensive protection
The current threat landscape of malware ranges from ransomware to cryptominers and is constantly changing. Spam, virus and content filters provide a solid basis against cyber attacks. These filters do not provide 100% protection against targeted and sophisticated attacks on companies. Further protection mechanisms are needed that adapt to the constantly changing types of attacks and malware. By combining Hornetsecurity’s interoperable filters, full protection against specific cyber attacks can be achieved and sustainably secured for companies.
In addition to the spam and virus filter, Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) from Hornetsecurity offers reliable protection against current malware attacks. ATP integrates seamlessly into the existing filters from Hornetsecurity email services and has, in comparison to the content filter, profound behavior analyses of file contents. Thanks to the integrated ATP engines such as the sandbox, URL Rewriting and URL Scanning , attacks such as targeted or blended attacks are detected early and the necessary protective measures are initiated in real time. For example, hidden links infiltrated in files can be recursively tracked in an isolated environment and the content hidden within can be subjected to forensic analysis. For content patterns that indicate malicious intent, the company’s IT security team is notified in real time for immediate protection.
