That Festive Invitation Could Be a Cyberattack in Disguise

 

Cybercriminals are disguising malware as holiday party invites, using familiar names and festive graphics to trick staff into clicking — here’s how the scam works and how to spot the threat before it spreads through your practice’s network.

By Gary Salman, CEO, Black Talon Security

Now that the fall professional and social season is in full swing, your practice will be receiving a variety of invitations. Community partners such as chambers of commerce, local nonprofits, and schools may be hosting events. Dental associations and other professional groups will be having meetings and conferences. Referring GPs or other specialty practices may send invitations to an open house or holiday party.

Here is a common scenario: Your staff is juggling phone calls, checking in patients, and answering emails when an email invitation arrives from a familiar name. The festive graphics and welcoming message tell you to “Click here to RSVP.” Since the email comes from a name, business, or organization that sounds legitimate, your employee clicks and opens the downloaded “invitation.” It all seems innocent, part of a routine day’s work this time of year.

But beware–by responding, you or your staff member may have unknowingly given a hacker remote access to your computer.

It may look like an invitation to a promising networking event or a harmless Halloween party, but it can open the door to a real-life nightmare.

Intrusions Masquerading as Invitations

The digital invitation may appear to come from a legitimate but compromised account belonging to a referral partner, colleague, or friend. But as soon as someone clicks the email to RSVP for the event, the trouble begins. The hacker can watch what is happening on your system and lurk undetected.

Then, at the opportune moment, they can use their foothold to breach applications and cloud portals to access patient and other sensitive information. The stolen data might be sold and leaked to the dark web, or the cybercriminals might threaten to publish it and demand a ransom payment.

In this type of phishing attack, the RSVP link leads to a website that downloads a file disguised as an invitation. That file can install a screen-sharing and remote-control application, such as ScreenConnect. Importantly, downloading a file alone is not the same as executing it. The danger escalates when the disguised installer runs automatically and bypasses your antivirus software.

ScreenConnect is legitimate software used by IT professionals. Criminals abuse its functionality to view screens, control keyboards, transfer files, and maintain access. Here is the catch: since these applications have legitimate purposes, traditional antivirus protection may not automatically flag their presence as malicious.

An attacker controlling an orthodontic practice’s front-desk workstation could potentially access patient information, imaging, financial information, and practice-management software. Existing signed-in accounts may also be exposed. Depending on permissions and network protections, criminals may use that foothold to reach additional computers or servers. One compromised workstation does not automatically mean the entire network is compromised, but it can lead to that disaster.

The damage could extend well beyond an inconvenient computer problem. Data theft, financial fraud, canceled appointments, recovery expenses, and damaged patient trust are potential consequences.

Proactive Measures to Protect Your Practice

It is crucial that you train every staff member to treat digital invitations with diligence and caution. This training should be included in your onboarding process and given to every current employee. Everyone in your office must be keenly aware that invitations need to be handled with care.

Establish this basic rule: responding to a party invitation should not require installing software. Treat requests to download an application, run an installer, or approve unexpected computer changes as warning signs.

A familiar name is not proof of authenticity or safety. Typically, the malicious invitation comes from the hijacked email account of someone you know or trust. When scammers gain access to email accounts, they can send a fake invitationsto the entire contact list and design it to look like a legitimate event.

Before responding, verify questionable invitations by calling the sender using a number already in your contacts. Do not rely on the contact information supplied in the suspicious email.

To fortify your system, have your cybersecurity providers:

• Restrict unauthorized remote-access applications;
• Maintain an inventory of approved tools;
• Monitor for suspicious activity; and
• Combine these controls with email filtering, endpoint detection, and response.

In addition, establish a staff training protocol. Include orthodontists and dental assistants as well as administrators and temporary employees in the training, not just the front desk.

Ensure that everyone in your office knows that mistakes should be reported immediately. Make the process of reporting mistakes safe and straightforward. The goal is rapid containment, not blame.

If someone opens a scam invitation and unauthorized software appears to be running, disconnect the affected computer from Wi-Fi and wired networking, and call for assistance. Do not wait for a ransom demand or visible computer problems. Immediately notify your cybersecurity provider. Preserve the email and avoid attempting your own cleanup. It is safer for skilled responders to determine what happened and whether other systems were affected.

The most important rule for protecting your practice’s computer systems and data is really quite simple: Treat unexpected digital invitations with caution. Don’t let an unwelcome “guest” crash your computers and threaten your practice. OP

Photo: ID 179301912 © Anton Skavronskiy | Dreamstime.com

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