The FBI has issued a warning to retail companies across the United States about a hacking group known as Storm-0539, which has been actively targeting the gift card departments of retailers. Since January 2024, this financially motivated group has been employing sophisticated phishing attacks to gain access to the personal and work-related mobile devices of employees in these departments. By using advanced phishing kits, the attackers can bypass multi-factor authentication systems, allowing them to infiltrate employee accounts and potentially gain control over gift card operations.
Once they have breached an employee’s account, the attackers employ tactics such as lateral movement within the network to locate and exploit the business processes related to gift cards. They aim to obtain login credentials of gift card department personnel as well as secure shell (SSH) passwords and keys. This stolen information can then be used for further financial gain or to facilitate future attacks. Not stopping at just stealing credentials, Storm-0539 also focuses on manipulating compromised accounts to generate fraudulent gift cards.
In an instance highlighted by the FBI, a corporation identified fraudulent activities by STORM-0539 within their systems and took steps to prevent the creation of counterfeit gift cards. Despite these measures, STORM-0539 persisted with their attacks, adjusting their methods to target unredeemed gift cards. They altered the email addresses associated with these cards to ones under their control, enabling them to redeem the cards fraudulently.
The FBI advises retail corporations to review and strengthen their incident response strategies and to educate their employees on recognizing and avoiding phishing scams. Employees should be cautioned against sharing sensitive information like credentials over email, chat, or phone. Retailers are also urged to enforce strong password policies, utilize updated antivirus and anti-malware solutions, and apply the principle of least privilege across their networks. These measures are critical in reducing the risk and impact of sophisticated phishing attacks like those conducted by Storm-0539.
