Another very dangerous phishing scam has appeared and has now started targeting CEO’s and other high-ranking officers. The new phishing scam involves using pornographic videos to essentially bully the officers into complying with their demands or face public persecution.
Like most phishing attempts, it begins with an email. Using social engineering, hackers use the information gathered to send emails to potential victims. This time however, their messages have something more valuable. They send emails claiming that they have your current passwords and state that if you do not reply, they will release this password. This is in fact a trap, because the moment the victim replies, they end up giving the hacker exactly what they want. They then send an email saying that they now have full access to your files and will start sending pornographic material unless the ransom, which in most cases is bitcoin, is paid. This is for certain, a form of cyber extortion.
In reality, the hackers do not have your real passwords or a password that you use. They play on the fears that you’ve been compromised and hope they get you to bite. The passwords they use are probably older ones from over a decade ago. As the scam develops however, they could be using more modern or recent passwords. In order to avoid falling into this trap, the FBI recommends that you use a long password, coupled with a password manager. In addition, dual factor authentication should be activated on your sensitive accounts.1 For more information on cyber coverage: Click Here