Phishing attack: HTML files can be malicious too

Researchers at IT security firm Barracuda Networks recently analysed data on the millions of attachments scanned by Barracuda systems over the past month. They found almost 21% of all HTML attachments scanned by the company to be malicious.

HTML attachments are commonly used for email communication. These are particularly used for system-generated email reports that users might receive regularly. These messages include URL links to the actual report. Attackers have been embedding HTML attachments in emails disguised as a weekly report, tricking users into clicking on phishing links. This is a successful technique because hackers no longer need to include malicious links in an email, allowing them to easily bypass anti-spam and anti-virus systems.