Protecting organizations from AI-assisted executive impersonation and invoice fraud


Threat actors are increasingly improving their tactics to make suspicious emails look like legitimate email notifications to potential victims, deploying techniques that impersonate internally sent emails from executive team members. While this technique is not new, the adoption of AI has enabled threat actors to improve their campaign templates and construct emails tailored to their recipients. Additionally, threat actors are incorporating multiple techniques within the same email to improve the overall narrative further.

In this blog, we will discuss a recent campaign observed using third-party email delivery infrastructure to send out over a million financial fraud scam emails that displayed multiple indicators consistent with the use of generative AI during email template creation. The threat actor impersonated CEOs of multiple target companies, attempting to convince accounts payable departments of the same companies to process an Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment of nearly $50,000. To add legitimacy, the actor included a forwarded email thread (and a fabricated invoice) between the impersonated CEO and ServiceNow (which was also being impersonated).

Read more…
Source:  Microsoft News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Denmark energy cyber attack highlights infrastructure security gaps

    August 4, 2025

    November 2023 saw an unprecedented cyber attack on Denmark’s energy infrastructure. In a co-ordinated breach of 22 companies, criminal gangs gained access to industrial control systems. Investigators believe at least one of the attackers was acting on behalf of a state. Michael Murphy, who heads Fortinet’s APAC Operational Technology group from the company’s Sydney office, says ...

  • Malicious Packages Across Open-Source Registries: Detection Statistics and Trends (Q2 2025)

    August 4, 2025

    In this previous blog, Fortiguard Labs highlighted a growing trend in the use of open source software (OSS) repositories as channels for malware distribution in supply chain security. With the continued reliance on third-party packages in development workflows, threat actors are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in the open-source ecosystem to propagate malicious code, exfiltrate data, and cause ...

  • IoT Security: Your Next Breach Could Start with Your Thermostat

    August 4, 2025

    Universities are filling up with network-connected devices. Smart locks manage building access. HVAC systems run on automated controls. Cameras stream to command centers. Vending machines, printers, thermostats, research tools, and classroom displays all connect to the network. The Internet of Things (IoT) is everywhere. These devices are often invisible to most of campus life, quietly making ...

  • Arkham Says $3.5B LuBian Bitcoin Theft Went Undetected for Nearly Five Years

    August 2, 2025

    A crypto wallet tied to a little-known Chinese mining pool may have been the victim of the largest bitcoin theft ever recorded, according to new findings from Arkham Intelligence. n an Aug. 2 thread on X, the onchain analytics firm said it had uncovered evidence that 127,426 BTC — worth $3.5 billion at the time — ...

  • Luxembourg: Cybercriminals stole thousands from BIL customers using phishing scam

    August 2, 2025

    After cybercriminals stole thousands from BIL customers using a fake website, the banking association maintains that digital banking tools remain safe, but users must stay vigilant. In the wake of a sophisticated phishing scheme that led to major financial losses for dozens of BIL customers, The Luxembourg Banker’s Association (ABBL) is defending the security of the ...

  • Ransomware attacks cripple government services across Dutch Caribbean islands

    August 2, 2025

    Several major government institutions across the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands were hit by cyberattacks last week, including a ransomware attack on Curaçao’s Tax and Customs Administration that temporarily disabled critical services, NOS reports. According to Curaçao’s Minister of Finance, ransomware was used in the attack on the tax authority. After the breach ...