Spambot Exposed 711 Million Email Addresses And Passwords

It’s not the musical comedy play by Monty Python creators; it’s something that isn’t particularly funny, in fact.  A researcher has discovered that a massive spambot from a server hosted in the Netherlands was responsible for exposing somewhere around 711 million email addresses and corresponding passwords to whomever wanted to collect and use them. It is being referred to as the largest spam list ever seen by the security analyst Troy Hunt.

A spambot is a computer application that collects and sends spam automatically in mass quantities. They can also be used by malicious actors to carry out attacks against a website. Because of the number of email addresses included in spambots, they can spread malware very quickly, making them ideal for phishing.

Businesses try to protect users from spam by implementing anti-spam tools and anti-malware software. However, because the addresses can be changed to appear to come from legitimate sources, they often make it past them and into users’ in boxes.

That’s why learning how to identify phishing is so important. No matter how many tools are implemented to stop spam, all it takes is for one person to click a malicious link or attachment that sends malware throughout a network. We saw this in action with the WannaCry outbreak and subsequent NotPetya.

So here are some clues that an email may be trying to hook you:

• There are misspelled words, grammatical mistakes, and/or the language it’s written in may be used incorrectly.
• It’s sent from an unknown sender.
• It’s sent from a known sender, but includes a link or attachment that you are not expecting to receive or that seems even a tiny bit suspect.
• The sender is requesting information that he or she normally wouldn’t.
• There is a sense of urgency intended to make you act without putting enough thought into it.
• There is threatening language hinting at big penalties if you don’t do what is asked.
• The graphics are not current, are blurred, skewed, or otherwise not quite right.

And what should you do if you receive an email message that you suspect is phishing?

• If you know it’s phishing, just delete it right away.
• Definitely do not click on any links or attachments.
• If you are not quite certain, verify with the sender by texting, calling, walking to his or her desk, or in some other way besides replying to the message.
• Ask your supervisor or IT support for assistance.

If you would like to find out if your email address has been stolen and potentially used to spread spam or is included in a list for receiving spam, you can check Troy Hunt’s website haveibeenpwned.com. If so, immediately change your password. Also, turn on multifactor authentication (MFA) for your email account. This will require you to provide some additional information before you’re allowed access to your account. Finally, make sure your secondary or recovery email address or information is current at all times. This will help you reclaim your email address or recover your password should that be necessary.