World of Scams - A systematic analysis of online scams using the Scam Tactics and Techniques Framework
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Presented at Bluehat / BlueHat India 2024 by
Online scams are a multi-billion-dollar industry that targets consumers on the Internet. According to Global Anti-Scam Alliance, over $1 trillion is lost to scams worldwide. Problem - The threat landscape news is fraught with online scammers targeting consumers every day with ingenuity. While several cybersecurity players have attempted to analyse the scam landscape, these efforts are at best, ad-hoc. There is no single systematic approach that can describe to the reader, in detail, all the techniques and methods used by scammers. Whereas a scam taxonomy exists, it serves to provide examples of rather than defining systemtically the tactics and techniques (T&T) adopted by scammers. Defining such a systematic framework can go a long way in enabling defenders to protect consumers against scams. Our paper showcases two unique contributions: - Scam kill chain - sequence of events involved in a scam attack on a consumer - Scam T&T framework - covers a comprehensive set of tactics and techniques used by scammers in the wild. The framework has been created based on our wide experience in the security field, including scams. Inspired from the MITRE® ATT&CK Matrix, our framework gives a thorough overview of steps taken by scammers to achieve their goals. A top-level tactic maps to a more detailed technique in the scam kill chain to characterise a mini-goal achieved by the scammer. Techniques represent the methods used by a scammer to achieve that specific mini- goal Ci.e. tactic). This framework consists of 8 tactics and a total of 31 techniques. In the presentation, we will see how the kill chain and “scam tactics and techniques framework” can be applied to conveniently visualize the progress of any scam, starting from how a user is targeted and ending with how money is cheated out of victims. Additionally, we will also see how the framework can be utilized by organisations to assess and thus improve their security posture against scams. F-Secure About the Presenter: Amit Tambe is a researcher at F-Secure Corporation, and primarily focuses on research about prevalent threats and scams targeting consumers. Additionally he also analyses Android malware My Best Frenemy: A Synergy Between Red Team and Blue Team in Oracle’s SaaS Security