The target: A Chinese Venture Capital firm.
The take: $1 million.
The attack vector: The “man-in-the-middle” attack occurred when the Venture Capital firm transferred funds to an Israeli start-up company. The breach began with the threat actor creating two lookalike domains, both mirroring the VC firm and the Startup firm, but with an extra “s” at the end of the address. They then sent two emails, both posing as the VC firm’s CEO and as the start-up’s CEO, tricking both parties into sending sensitive banking information which the attacker then modified to hijack the money.
This coordinated attack highlights the critical need for human vigilance and the implementation of robust controls. Scrupulous validation of transactions where assets – funds or sensitive information - are being transferred is central to effective protection.