Phishing Training for Employees
Evaldas Rimasauskas allegedly posed as an Asian company representative to steal $100 million from Google and Facebook. Employees sent funds to overseas bank accounts after receiving emails from him posing as representatives of Quanta Computer, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer
2024-01-18
A Lithuanian cybercriminal was arrested in March 2017 for an alleged phishing attempt on two US-based technology companies. It was claimed that this person, Evaldas Rimasauskas, posing as an Asian firm representative, sent phishing emails to representatives of two large technological companies, the names of which were not first published.
According to Fortune’s report, the companies, Facebook and Google, were victims of these phishing attacks despite having anti-phishing solutions such as firewalls, antispam, data loss preventions, and so on, resulting in a $ 100 million loss, in which case employees in both companies were brought into the game by sending funds to overseas bank accounts. According to Fortune, Rimasauskas sent an email to Google and Facebook employees on behalf of Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, asking for payment for goods and services between 2013 and 2015. Employees paid the demanded sum without hesitation, believing the information in the email to be true.
Rimasauskas enabled the monies to flow worldwide in numerous bank accounts when Google and Facebook sent the funds to Quanta, including Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Hong Kong. Rimasauskas went to the bank using the signatures of Facebook and Google administrators on bills, contracts, and letters to move the money into these accounts. Rimasauskas allegedly stole $100 million from Google and Facebook before his arrest.
Why are the Phishing Attacks so Effective?
Technical solutions alone are insufficient to avoid phishing assaults. No matter how robust a corporation is, it might fall prey to phishing assaults since the human aspect is present and cyber attackers may be well prepared for staff shortcomings. Cybercriminals already know the best methods for gaining access to organizations’ sensitive data. Simple approaches, rather than complex methods, are sometimes employed to attack a company by simply manipulating its employees or community members through communication.
As illustrated in this instance, two massive technological corporations were exploited by diverse social engineering approaches and suffered significant material and moral harm. When institutions’ workers are well-equipped and aware of the techniques and tactics of phishing assaults, they have the finest defense mechanism. Keepnet Labs’ cybersecurity guidelines and anti-phishing solutions provide tips and suggestions for avoiding phishing assaults.