Microsoft, Health-ISAC, Japanese authorities, and others disrupt a Chinese-language phishing kit ecosystem used to send 1B+ messages to 75K+ orgs this year (Matt Kapko/CyberScoop)
In less than 10 months, cybercriminals used the arsenal of customized, targeted phishing kits to send more than 1 billion malicious messages …
Microsoft, in collaboration with Japanese authorities, Health-ISAC, and other organizations, has dismantled a criminal marketplace known as Yam Store. According to Computerworld, the nearly year-long investigation targeted a coordinated phishing-as-a-service network that allowed cybercriminals to quickly deploy pre-made kits to steal data and credentials. The takedown, which began following a tip from Japanese authorities, involved using AI tools to connect seemingly unrelated accounts, websites, and infrastructure.
The network was used to send more than 1 billion malicious messages to over 75,000 organizations worldwide in less than 10 months. Computerworld reports that more than 750 million of these messages were sent to Microsoft customers alone, generating tens of millions of dollars for criminal operators.
The Record reports that Microsoft worked with Japan’s National Police Agency and Health-ISAC to secure a U.S. court order. This order allowed for the seizure and redirection of domains used in the infrastructure underlying Yam Store, CoGUI, and Iron Man.
Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Computerworld, The Record — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
