Quick quiz: which social media platform are hackers impersonating most effectively?
If you guessed LinkedIn, good for you.
Yes, LinkedIn has quietly become a haven for hackers. Utilizing email notifications, they've seen a 47% open rate from end-users. It's more than triple the next-highest social media open rate, which is via Twitter. And LinkedIn has held this distinction for three straight years.
The Attack: Avanan researchers discovered a new phishing email that looks like this:
If you click on accept, it takes you to a fake login page that steals your credentials.
Though Avanan stopped this attack, it passed by ATP's scanners.
Why it Matters: This a particularly effective hacking technique. LinkedIn is a unique mix of personal and professional. Depending on the company, a request from someone in a different country for business information may be normal, especially since a lot of business does happen on LinkedIn. And unlike some scams, this one looks pretty convincing, too.
Hackers won't fix what's broken. Since LinkedIn has proven to be a valuable and successful spoof for some time, they will continue to hit it until that changes.
