CFC warns on emerging ransomware attack dubbed ‘BazarCall’

CFC, a specialist insurance provider and market leader in cyber, has warned brokers and their clients of an emerging method of ransomware attack – dubbed ‘BazarCall’ – which is targeting small businesses.

According to  CFC’s in-house cyber threat analysis team - the ‘BazarCall’ attack method has been growing in use among well-known ransomware groups and is responsible for an increasing number of malware infections observed by  CFC over the past three months.

Uniquely, the BazarCall method subverts common cyber security controls by utilizing a phishing email that tricks the victim into phoning a call centre - rather than clicking a link - and instructing them to download malicious software and infect their computers. From there, the hackers can carry out their ransomware attacks undetected.

“Making the victim do all the heavy lifting is a notable shift from the more traditional hacking attack vectors” said Tom Bennett (pictured),  CFC’s cyber threat analysis team leader. “Unfortunately, most workplace education around phishing emails doesn’t warn about this type of social engineering, so it represents a significant new threat.”

According to Bennett, BazarCall accounted for nearly 10% of the malware incidents  CFC has detected across its own portfolio over the last three months, but to date the company has been able to prevent cyber claims stemming from these infections.

“To date we have detected and removed every case of this malware within our impacted customers, at no cost to them,” continued Bennett. “But we must all remain vigilant – cyber criminals are motivated, well-funded and well-organized. And they are constantly revising their attacks. That’s why we’ve built our dedicated cyber security team to help our customers protect themselves and prevent incidents before they happen.”

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.