Threat Outbreak Alert: Malicious Tax Return Notification E-mail Messages on January 15, 2013
Threat Type:
IntelliShield: Threat Outbreak Alert
IntelliShield ID:
23586
Version:
2
First Published:
2011 July 06 14:36 GMT
Last Published:
2013 January 16 17:15 GMT
Port:
Not Available
Urgency:
Possible Use
Credibility:
Confirmed
Severity:
Harrassment
Version Summary:
Cisco Security Intelligence Operations has detected significant activity on January 15, 2013.
Description
Cisco Security Intelligence Operations has detected significant activity related to spam e-mail messages that contain a tax return notification for the recipient. The text in the e-mail message attempts to persuade the recipient to open the attachment to view details. However, the .zip attachment contains malicious .exe file, that when executed, attempts to infect the system with malicious code.
E-mail messages that are related to this threat (RuleID858KVR) may contain the following files:
doc.zip doc.exe Tax Report.zip Tax Report.xls.exe
The doc.exe file has a file size of 29,696 bytes. The MD5 checksum, which is a unique identifier of the executable, is the following string: 0xB70B79F904984165FB0E3E8AE6B6CF8B
The Tax Report.xls.exe file in the Tax Report.zip attachment has a file size of 80,384 bytes. The MD5 checksum is the following string: 0x6FE4D3639767FF5376EE62BEE3CA862D
The following text is a sample of the e-mail message that is associated with this threat outbreak:
Subject: IRS notification letter
Message Body:
Department of Tresaury Internal Revenue Source
Important information about your tax return
Or
Subject: Tax Agent Report - Delayed Tax Returns
Message Body:
Please do not respond to this email
Tax agent report for delayed tax returns over 30 days
Please find attached your weekly report for the period ending 10/01/2013
What you need to do
Refer to the initial notification email with attachment we sent you with instructions on how to interpret your tax agent report.
Yours sincerely
Deputy Commissioner of Taxation
Cisco Security Intelligence Operations analysts examine real-world e-mail traffic data that is collected from over 100,000 contributing organizations worldwide. This data helps provide a range of information about and analysis of global e-mail security threats and trends. Cisco will continue to monitor this threat and automatically adapt IronPort systems to protect customers. This report will be updated if there are significant changes or if the risk to end users increases.
Cisco IronPort Virus Outbreak Filters protect customers during the critical period between the first exploit of a virus outbreak and the release of vendor antivirus signatures. E-mail that is managed by Cisco and end users who are protected by Cisco IronPort web security appliances will not be impacted by these attacks. Cisco IronPort appliances are automatically updated to prevent both spam e-mail and hostile web URLs from being passed to the end user.
The security vulnerability applies to the following combinations of products.
Primary Products:
IntelliShield
Threat Outbreak Alert
Original Release Base
Associated Products:
N/A
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER The urgency and severity ratings of this alert are not tailored to individual users; users may value alerts differently based upon their network configurations and circumstances. THE ALERT, AND INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DO NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE. YOUR USE OF THE ALERT, AND INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN, OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE ALERT, IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. INFORMATION IN THIS ALERT AND ANY RELATED COMMUNICATIONS IS BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE ALERTS AT ANY TIME.
