Thousands of Microsoft 365 accounts under threat from W3LL phishing kit


Hundreds of threat actor groups are using a highly advanced phishing kit to target corporate Microsoft 365 accounts, with relative success, according to a new report from cybersecurity experts Group-IB.
The phishing kit is called W3LL, and it’s been in development since at least 2017. In that time, the kit grew and improved, and with it – its popularity rose, with more than 500 groups currently using it.
Those groups have managed to create roughly 850 phishing campaigns, which sought to steal Microsoft 365 credentials from more than 56,000 accounts. Apparently, they succeeded in some 8,000 instances. The result is, the researchers say, “millions of dollars” in financial losses, and possibly millions of files stolen from endpoints.
W3LL phishing attacks
One of W3LL’s key selling propositions is the ability to bypass multi-factor authentication, the experts said. Also, as it covers almost the entire kill chain in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) operation, it can be used by crooks “of all technical skill levels”. Finally, W3LL has its own app store, where cybercriminals can purchase different tools, modules, and such.
Some of the key tools, as per the report, include SMTP senders PunnySender and W3LL Sender, a malicious link stager called W3LL Redirect, a vulnerability scanner called OKELO, an automated account discovery utility CONTOOL, and an email validator called LOMPAT.
“W3LL’s major weapon, W3LL Panel, may be considered one of the most advanced phishing kits in class, featuring adversary-in-the-middle functionality, API, source code protection, and other unique capabilities,” Group-IB explained.
Phishing is one of the most popular, and basic, attack verticals. It’s cheap to set up and can easily be automated. With email’s wide reach, the potential of phishing attacks is unparalleled. Even today, most cyberattacks start with an email message that either carries a malicious attachment, or a link.
Via: BleepingComputer
More security news from TechRadar Pro
Hundreds of threat actor groups are using a highly advanced phishing kit to target corporate Microsoft 365 accounts, with relative success, according to a new report from cybersecurity experts Group-IB. The phishing kit is called W3LL, and it’s been in development since at least 2017. In that time, the kit…
Recent Posts
- MWC 2025: all the phones, gadgets, and commentary from Barcelona
- Finally, we have some GPU competition – AMD announces the Radeon RX 9070 XT March 6 launch date, starting at $599 alongside the RX 9070 at $549
- What is Apple Intelligence: everything you need to know about the AI toolkit
- Apple accused of misleading consumers with Apple Watch ‘carbon neutral’ claims
- Severance opens up a new kind of terror in latest episode
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010