Understanding Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Email Account Compromise (EAC)
What is BEC?
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is an email scam where attackers target businesses to defraud them. These scams are a major issue globally, affecting companies of all sizes and industries, with potential losses amounting to billions of dollars.
What is EAC?
Email Account Compromise (EAC), also known as email account takeover, is a related threat. In EAC, attackers gain control of legitimate email accounts, often using them for BEC-like scams or other cyberattacks. Both BEC and EAC are challenging to detect and prevent, especially with outdated security tools.
Types of BEC Scams:
- CEO Fraud: Attackers pose as a CEO or executive, emailing finance staff to transfer funds to their account.
- Account Compromise: An employee’s email is hacked and used to request payments to fraudulent accounts.
- False Invoice Scheme: Attackers impersonate suppliers and request fund transfers to fake accounts.
- Attorney Impersonation: Attackers pretend to be lawyers, targeting employees to make unauthorized requests.
- Data Theft: Attackers target HR to steal personal information, which can be used for future attacks.
How BEC Attacks Work:
In a BEC scam, attackers impersonate trusted individuals like colleagues or vendors. They request actions such as wire transfers or changes in banking details. These attacks are hard to detect because they use social engineering rather than malware. Attackers often use techniques like domain spoofing and lookalike domains to trick their targets.
How to Protect Against BEC and EAC:
- Multi-layered Defense: Implement comprehensive security measures to stop various BEC/EAC tactics.
- Visibility and Monitoring: Keep an eye on malicious activities and user behavior within your systems and the cloud.
- Automated Detection and Response: Use automated tools to detect and respond to threats quickly.
- Email and Account Security: Secure all communication channels, including corporate email, personal webmail, and cloud apps.
- User Awareness: Train users to recognize suspicious emails and understand common scam tactics.
Tips for Detecting Suspicious Emails:
- Unusual Requests from Executives: Question if a high-level executive would make such a request, especially for sensitive information.
- Confidentiality Requests: Be wary if asked to keep the email content confidential or communicate only through email.
- Bypassing Normal Channels: Be suspicious of emails bypassing standard procedures for financial transactions.
- Language and Format Issues: Watch for unusual language, grammar errors, and date formats that don’t match the norm.
- Mismatch in Email Domains: Check for slight differences in email domains that can be easy to miss.
Best Practices for Protection:
- Be Suspicious: Verify unusual requests with IT or colleagues.
- Trust Instincts: If something feels off, it probably is. Ask questions like “Would my CEO really ask this?”.
- Take Your Time: Attackers exploit busy periods. Slow down and scrutinize requests, especially those asking for urgent actions.
Learn More:
BEC and EAC scams are designed to trick users into sending money or personal information to cybercriminals. Comprehensive solutions like those from Proofpoint provide visibility into malicious activities, user behavior, and automate threat detection and response to effectively combat these threats.
- Begin your cybersecurity education and training with a free trial to protect against BEC and EAC attacks.
