ThreatMark Raises Alarm Over Phishing Attacks Through Google App Engine

In a recent post on its website, computer and network security specialist ThreatMark warns of the rising trend of phishing attacks in Europe that use the Google App Engine as a host.

The article, authored by SOC analyst Lukáš Prišť, and ThreatMark’s Nikola Kozuljevic, warns that multiple banks throughout the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region have been targeted by the recent attacks, in what the authors describe as “a complex, likely automated, and far-reaching operation”.

The Google App Engine is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) used to develop and host scalable web apps. ThreatMark describes the attacks as relying on the Google App Engine’s feature of simplifying the administration of all apps deployed on it by providing an SSL certificate by default, which in turn is why it is targeted by hackers. Because all of the service’s subdomains fall under the Google umbrella, they are automatically trusted by browsers and security solutions that are likely to be deployed by the user.

Though the calendar recently pushed us all into a new year, the growth of cyberattacks seen throughout the world in 2020 is likely to continue for some time. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive growth in online traffic and transactions, and consequently has caused cybercrime to grow along with it.

ThreatMark emphasizes that its clients are already safe and protected from these threats as a result of its Threat Detection service, which provides its clients with early warnings against phishing attacks and other threats.

However, the company does urge banks in the CEE region to check to ensure that their systems are not being targeted. As the authors point out, to request that Google take down a newly discovered phishing site, users can visit this link to file a report with Google.

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January 4, 2021 – by Tony Bitzionis