HTML attachments are getting increasingly dangerous: Barracuda

Businesses in Asia-Pacific could find themselves vulnerable to attack via HTML attachment, according to the most recent Threat Spotlight from Barracuda, a provider of cloud-enabled security solutions.

After analysing millions of messages and files scanned by Barracuda’s security technologies globally, the company has found that as the proportion of malicious files sent as HTML attachments has doubled in less than 12 months. The new report shows how in March 2023 just under half (45.7%) of all HTML attachments scanned by Barracuda were malicious, more than double the proportion (21%) reported in May last year.

HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and is used to create and structure content that is displayed online. It is also used in email communication – for example in automated newsletters, marketing materials, and more. In many cases, reports are attached to an email in HTML format (with the file extension .html, .htm or .xhtml, for example). Attackers can successfully leverage HTML as an attack technique in phishing and credential theft or for the delivery of malware.

According to Barracuda’s Threat Spotlight, HTML attachments remain the file type most likely to be used for malicious purposes when compared to a year ago.

Source: Barracuda. Percentage of malicious HTML and XML attachments as part of all such attachments.
Source: Barracuda. Percentage of malicious HTML and XML attachments as part of all such attachments.

Barracuda explained that HTML attacks can be tricky to detect, as instead of hackers having to include malicious links in the body of an email - which would be detected - attackers instead work to embed HTML attachments within emails disguised as weekly reports and other generic work email types. This tricks users into clicking on phishing links. From there, user credentials can be phished by a third-party machine, whether via a phishing site or a phishing form embedded in the attachment.

“The security industry has been highlighting the trend of cybercriminals weaponising HTML for years – and evidence suggests it remains a successful and popular attack tool,” said Fleming Shi, CTO, Barracuda.

“Getting the right security in place is as important now as it has ever been. This means having effective, AI-powered email protection in place that can evaluate the content and context of an email beyond scanning links and attachments. Other important elements include implementing robust multifactor authentication or – ideally – Zero Trust access controls; having automated tools to respond to and remediate the impact of any attack; and training people to spot and report suspicious messages.”

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Find out more about the Threat Spotlight at https://blog.barracuda.com/2023/05/03/threat-spotlight-malicious-html-attachments-doubles/

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