Topic: Warning! Malicious Email Attachment!

[Scott Doyle]

We just received this security warning here at work.

The COT Security Administration Branch is alerting Commonwealth email users of a malicious email attachment threat reported by US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team).  The subject line of the email is “Journalists shot in Georgia” and it contains an attachment named “Georgia.zip” that is password protected. The password is provided in the email.  The file contained within this archive, “Joined.exe”, creates an executable file located in the user’s TEMP directory called “LOADER.19B099.exe”.  As this threat evolves, the names of these files may change.

Caution should be used at all times when opening email and email attachments.  Users should never open attachments from unknown senders and should verify unexpected email attachments from known senders.  Malicious files that come in email attachments usually run automatically when opened and may spread quickly across network computers.

I get a ton of spam and have been seeing this attachment not only in emails titled "Journalists Shot in Georgia" but in a number of others.

Bottom line!  Do not open an attachment from someone you don't know.  Never open a password protected zip file.  That is a huge red flag when you see it!

[Jerry Petillo]

Thanks Scott

[Bob Shem]

The other day, in the span of only a couple of hours, I received over 1600 messages in my email account that said that "my email could not be delivered".  From what I can tell, every once in a while some spammer uses my email address as his return address, apparently in an attempt to get someone to open his stupid sales pitch.

My email provider has an email guard program which quarantines nearly 100 percent of the nonsense, including spam and viruses. 

Once you have deleted your one millionth spam message from your email quarantine and your in box, like I have, it is unlikely that you'd open an attachment unless you absolutely have to.  Most of the silly stuff that friends forward me (along with everybody else in their personal email address books) never gets looked at by me, especially if it comes attached to a message sent to dozens of people.