Network Abuses Leveraging High-Profile Events: Suspicious Domain Registrations and Other Scams
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Summary
Unit 42’s industry-leading threat intelligence enables the identification of attacks targeting event-specific keywords through domains, DNS and URL traffic as well as related textual patterns.
The intelligence from the unit’s network abuse investigations uncovers surges in event-related domains, particularly those with event-specific keywords, which frequently double or triple during major events like the Olympics.
Such domains frequently exploit the interests of event attendees with fraudulent websites, and registrations for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics exhibited notable spikes during the opening ceremony and throughout the event weeks, with a corresponding surge in suspicious domain activity.
Event-related DNS and URL traffic also surged during the Olympics, and URL traffic spikes revealed which event-related domains were particularly targeted by phishing campaigns during the event.
Through its cybersecurity platform, Unit 42 provides organizations with critical visibility into event-related attacks to proactively protect their websites and users.