FIFA World Cup fixture wallchart used for email phishing campaign

Football fans have been targeted in an email phishing campaign that involves downloading a wallchart of fixtures for the FIFA World Cup.

Hackers have packaged nine different executable files into emails using the subject: ‘World_Cup_2018_Schedule_and_Scoresheet_V1.86_CB-DL-Manager’.

When a user opens the email’s attachment on their PC, a malware variant called ‘DownloaderGuide’ kicks in, downloading potentially unwanted programs that most commonly install applications such as toolbars, adware or system optimisers.

The campaign was first identified by Check Point Software on May 30th, peaking on June 5th. However, in the past week, it has gained new momentum with additional instances emerging as the competition starts.

Maya Horowitz, Check Point’s threat intelligence group manager, said that cyber criminals see huge global events like the FIFA World Cup as a golden opportunity to launch new campaigns.

“With so much anticipation and hype around the World Cup, cyber criminals are banking on employees being less vigilant in opening unsolicited emails and attachments,” she commented.

“As such, it is critical that organizations take steps to remind their employees of security best practices to help prevent these attacks being successful.”