Criminals Try to Capitalize on Recent Crowdstrike Outage
August 1, 2024
By Genady Vishnevetsky
The recent global Crowdstrike/Microsoft outage wasn't an intentionally malicious act. It was a bug in the software. However, threat actors quickly started using social engineering techniques to trick people across the globe into taking some action that could harm them or their company.
Over 30 malicious domains with “crowdstrike” in the name were registered just in the first 24 hours. Be particularly cautious with software updates and patches. Attackers can target both Crowdstrike Falcon agent and/or Microsoft Windows Operating System, so stay vigilant.
After global event like this, people tend to turn to Google for solutions, and so do the attackers. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) attacks will be on the rise, pushing malicious websites to the top of the search results. Be on the lookout for tech support scams, unsolicited calls portraying to be from Crowdstrike or Microsoft support offering to help.
CrowdStrike maintains a portal where it provides guidance and updates.
It's important to note that the Windows Operating System was not affected by this event and no updates are required. You can continue to rely on the stability and security of your system.
As always:
- Examine every URL before you click on it. Pay attention to lookalikes
- Stay calm. Crisis creates urge - urge leads to regrets
- Verify recipient
- Go to the source
- Go with your guts - run away if in doubt
Genady Vishnevetsky is chief information security officer for Stewart Title Guaranty Co. and is chair of ALTA’s Information Security Work Group. He can be reached at [email protected].
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].