T1598.001 Spearphishing Service

Adversaries may send spearphishing messages via third-party services to elicit sensitive information that can be used during targeting. Spearphishing for information is an attempt to trick targets into divulging information, frequently credentials or other actionable information. Spearphishing for information frequently involves social engineering techniques, such as posing as a source with a reason to collect information (ex: Establish Accounts or Compromise Accounts) and/or sending multiple, seemingly urgent messages.

All forms of spearphishing are electronically delivered social engineering targeted at a specific individual, company, or industry. In this scenario, adversaries send messages through various social media services, personal webmail, and other non-enterprise controlled services.(Citation: ThreatPost Social Media Phishing) These services are more likely to have a less-strict security policy than an enterprise. As with most kinds of spearphishing, the goal is to generate rapport with the target or get the target's interest in some way. Adversaries may create fake social media accounts and message employees for potential job opportunities. Doing so allows a plausible reason for asking about services, policies, and information about their environment. Adversaries may also use information from previous reconnaissance efforts (ex: Social Media or Search Victim-Owned Websites) to craft persuasive and believable lures.

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NIST 800-53 Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
CA-07 Continuous Monitoring mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
SC-44 Detonation Chambers mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
SI-08 Spam Protection mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
SI-03 Malicious Code Protection mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
SI-04 System Monitoring mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
AC-04 Information Flow Enforcement mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
SC-07 Boundary Protection mitigates T1598.001 Spearphishing Service

VERIS Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
action.social.variety.Phishing Any type of *ishing. Phishing always involves getting data from the victim. Phishing usually has some element of pretexting, but often it doesn’t rise to the level of an invented scenario. E.g. A fake google login page isn’t really pretexting. related-to T1598.001 Spearphishing Service
action.social.variety.Pretexting Pretexting (dialogue leveraging invented scenario). Unlike 'Phishing', does not transfer data. (A fraudulent transfer or changing a bank account on a business account is not really disclosing data. related-to T1598.001 Spearphishing Service