Email spams are bulk messages which are sent through email to one or more recipients in a network. A hacker is able to send infected messages to millions of users by obtaining their email addresses. These addresses are collected from various sources through automated programs which navigate the internet. These programs are called spambots. Spam emails target a large number of users to increase the probability of users opening them. The aim is to infect as many hosts in a network as possible. If a hacker manages to infiltrate a company network, they can use the network resources to spread spam emails either within the network or on a wider scope. To mitigate this, businesses in Ottawa might consult an Ottawa IT Company to help protect both their employees and clients from malicious spam emails.
Spam emails come in different forms. They may entail emails which claim to offer a new service. Other emails may demand that users submit their personal identification information for verification. Others are phishing ploys to lure new users to subscribe to fake services. Without adequate IT consulting services, businesses in Ottawa risk compromising their network by allowing hackers to keep sending spam emails.
Spamming Techniques
There are three main spamming techniques used by hackers to lure users into opening emails.
Botnets
Botnets are a network of infected computers which give hackers the ability to remotely access services within a corporate network. If a company has been infected with malware, hackers can set up a remotely controlled network and use it to perform command and control methods to harvest and utilize email addresses.
Snowshoe
Snowshoe spamming involves obtaining a company’s email addresses and using them to generate malicious email messages. The hacker usually goes for reputable email addresses within the business, such as those of senior officials, so that they increase the chance of a user clicking their malicious links. Without proper network support, businesses in Ottawa are not able to protect their email servers from infiltration of threat actors. These businesses can, therefore, suffer significant losses if a hacker manages to use their network services to spread malware to unsuspecting customers.
Blank Email Spamming
In a blank email spam, hackers send email messages with empty subject lines and message bodies to unsuspecting users. This attack is commonly directed to email servers which are used to validate email addresses in a service distribution list. The process of collecting email addresses from these email servers is usually referred to as directory harvest. Normally, the collection of these addresses is by brute force. These emails will be later added to a spam database which will be used to send blank spam emails across the network.
Blank emails can also be used to mask malware such as worms and viruses by embedding them into the message body without having to use text. In order to minimize spam, businesses must ensure that proper security practices are in place. A managed services provider or It consultant might be able to help.