Phishing attacks leveraging HTML code inside SVG files


With each passing year, phishing attacks feature more and more elaborate techniques designed to trick users and evade security measures. Attackers employ deceptive URL redirection tactics, such as appending malicious website addresses to seemingly safe links, embed links in PDFs, and send HTML attachments that either host the entire phishing site or use JavaScript to launch it.

Lately, Kaspersky researchers have noticed a new trend where attackers are distributing attachments in SVG format, the kind normally used for storing images. SVG format SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics using XML. Since SVG is based on XML, it supports JavaScript and HTML, unlike JPEG or PNG. This makes it easier for designers to work with non-graphical content like text, formulas, and interactive elements. However, attackers are exploiting this by embedding scripts with links to phishing pages within the image file.

Read more…
Source: Kaspersky


Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.


Related:

  • ShinyHunters hacker in FBI data theft detained in Jordan, cooperating with bureau

    October 3, 2026

    A suspected member of the ShinyHunters hacking group, which ​says it stole data on every FBI employee, was detained in Jordan this week and is cooperating with the FBI, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Saif ‌al-Din Khader was detained by Jordanian authorities, the three sources said. Two of them said he was brought ...

  • Fortinet sounds the alarm over actively exploited FortiMail zero-day

    October 2, 2026

    Fortinet is warning customers to lock down FortiMail after attackers started exploiting a critical bug that lets them write files to vulnerable systems without logging in. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-104286, carries a CVSS score of 9.8 and affects multiple versions of Fortinet’s email security platform. Fortinet describes the vulnerability as a combination of path traversal and ...

  • SMTP is the key: BPFDoor and AVERAT hitting the network edge

    October 2, 2026

    Rapid7 tracked a set of Linux samples that blend into the software and device conventions of the telecom environments they target. The set spans a newly observed BPFDoor variant, a BPF Rekoobe build seen against South Korean targets, a dropper, and six builds of a Linux implant Rapid7 researchers track as AVERAT, deployed against Taiwanese ...

  • Operation KillSwitch: Teenager suspected of leading KillSec ransomware group

    October 1, 2026

    On 30 September 2026, law enforcement took control of KillSec’s leak site, securing at least 110 terabytes of data against further unauthorised access. The cybercrime group used the site to threaten organisations with the publication of stolen files unless they paid a ransom. The action was part of Operation KillSwitch, an international investigation led by German ...

  • ShinyHunters hackers are going after Oracle systems once again

    September 29, 2026

    ShinyHunters have found a way to bypass a mitigation for a zero-day they previously exploited – so now, not only are they back to abusing the same bug, they’ve even expanded their scope to target a much larger pool of organizations. In June 2026, it was reported that ShinyHunters, the infamous data extortionists, found a Java ...

  • Dutch police arrest ‘security researcher’ in ShinyHunters probe

    September 29, 2026

    Dutch police have arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of involvement with the prolific ShinyHunters cybercrime group. Cops announced the arrest on Monday night and said the Amsterdam resident would appear before judges at Rotterdam District Court today (Tuesday). Officers have not named the suspect. However, a company has identified a person they believe to be the ...