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The Growing Demand for Our API and New Data Feeds
The SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) API continues to gain popularity, particularly for individual IP address lookups. However, frequent queries may trigger our rate limits, leading to temporary restrictions. To address this issue, we have introduced summary feeds that compile all recently received data. These feeds allow users to download and store the data for faster and more efficient bulk lookups.
For further details and updates, visit our documentation: ISC Data Feeds.
We are open to expanding our data offerings, so if you need additional feeds or encounter errors, please reach out via our contact page.
Guidelines for Commercial Use
Many users inquire about using our data for commercial purposes. Our datasets are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. This means:
- You must credit us when using the data.
– You cannot resell the data.
- You can use it within a Security Operations Center (SOC) to protect your organization.
We encourage users to provide feedback on what works and what doesnāt. Running one of our honeypots and reporting back is one of the best ways to contribute. However, we do not remove data upon request due to potential false positivesāthese are an inherent part of cybersecurity research. Instead, we may add contextual comments to clarify data points without compromising research integrity.
A Curious Case of a Fake Update Request
Beyond data feeds, today we encountered an incident reminiscent of past cyber deception tactics. The event began with a seemingly legitimate email request, asking us to update a link in an old podcast. Initially, the request appeared validāURLs do change over time.
However, upon closer inspection, it became evident that this was a fraudulent request. The email did not originate from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as claimed. While some organizations use external marketing agencies that might not always send emails from the official domain, this particular case was differentāit was outright fake.
What We Discovered:
- The original EFF URL was still functional but redirected to another official EFF page.
- The requested replacement link pointed to academized.com, an essay-writing service unrelated to EFF.
- These services, struggling due to AI advancements, often resort to deceptive practices, including comment spam and impersonation, to generate traffic.
This incident serves as a reminder of the ever-evolving landscape of cyber deception and why vigilance is crucial in cybersecurity.
What Undercode Says:
This incident highlights several important cybersecurity lessons:
1. The Need for Efficient Threat Intelligence Handling
The addition of summary feeds is a great improvement for analysts handling large-scale investigations. Instead of overwhelming an API with queries, users can now access a consolidated data source, ensuring faster analysis and reduced server load. This approach benefits both security researchers and organizations by improving operational efficiency.
- The Rise of AI and Its Impact on Illicit Businesses
The exposure of academized.com as a deceptive entity ties into a larger trendāAI advancements disrupting traditional services. Many essay-writing businesses, once thriving, are now facing existential threats due to AI-powered tools that offer similar services for free or at lower costs. As a result, some of these businesses resort to unethical tactics to maintain visibility, including impersonation and spam.
3. Social Engineering Remains a Persistent Threat
The fake email requesting a bogus URL update is a classic social engineering attack. It was carefully crafted to appear legitimate but ultimately aimed at misleading trusted organizations into endorsing an unrelated service. This underlines the importance of:
- Verifying sender identities before making changes to publicly available content.
- Checking link authenticity to avoid unintentionally promoting fraudulent services.
- Staying skeptical of seemingly routine requests, as they may be an entry point for cyber deception.
4. Why False Positives Are a Necessary Evil
Security research must balance accuracy with inclusivity. While false positives are frustrating, removing data prematurely can distort research efforts and create blind spots. Instead of deletion, annotating and providing context ensures that security teams can make informed decisions based on comprehensive data rather than incomplete reports.
5. The Importance of Transparency and Community Engagement
SANS ISC encourages open feedback and contributions, fostering a collaborative environment where researchers and organizations share insights. This approach strengthens the global cybersecurity community and helps detect, analyze, and counter emerging threats more effectively.
Ultimately, this case serves as a reminder that cybersecurity is not just about technology but also about human awareness, vigilance, and collaboration.
Fact Checker Results:
- The SANS API summary feeds are a beneficial enhancement, improving efficiency in IP threat lookups.
- The email impersonation case is a confirmed example of a fraudulent update request, reinforcing the importance of verifying sources.
- Academized.com is unrelated to EFF, demonstrating how deceptive marketing tactics exploit trust for visibility.
This incident serves as another valuable lesson in cybersecurity awareness and resilience.
References:
Reported By: https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Some
Extra Source Hub:
https://www.stackexchange.com
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