A new variation to an old malware seems to be circulating around the Internet. The basic premise is that an email account that may have been phished is monitored by the would be hackers. Then, during an ongoing email conversation these would be hackers would use this phished account to reply to an existing email chain with links to download files for an unsuspecting victim to download. The recipient of said email has their guard down because this email arrives as a reply to an existing chain of communications with a known contact. The user then clicks the links to download a file that is a .ZIP file. Once the user extracts this zip file it will create some MS Word and or MS Excel files that contain malicious code. This code because it arrives as a ZIP file initially bypasses Microsoft Office’s Internet file policy allowing the embedded code to be run and infecting the recipients computer.

What does this mean for Westview Co-op users?

1. Remember to always be on your guard. Even if the email communication is coming from someone you know.
2. Remember if you have been emailed a link to download a file that you have not requested or are not expecting… Reach out to the sender preferably by phone to confirm that the link is legitimate.
3. Never open ZIP files sent in an email or ZIP files downloaded from a link from an email.
4. Never send attachments to anyone as a ZIP file. Try and break large emails into small attachments to avoid using ZIP files, or if you have large amounts of documents to send, take advantage of creating a Microsoft Teams Group for you and your recipient to share these files.

Thanks for your time.

Regards

Don Guilbeault

IT Analyst

Westview Co-operative Association Limited

P. 403.556.3335 Option 2, 8| C. 403.899.9752 | F. 403.507.2405

P.O. Box 3970, Olds AB. T4H 1P6, Canada

don.guilbeault@westviewcoop.ca | www.westviewco-op.crs

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