sublimemediumRule

Link to a domain with punycode characters

The body contains a link to a domain with Punycode characters to hide the true URL destination, or contains non-printable ASCII content.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1566 T1566.001 T1566.002 T1598 T1036 T1027 T1583.001

defense-evasioninitial-access

Detection Query

type.inbound
and (
  any(body.links,
      .href_url.domain.punycode is not null and .href_url.domain.valid == true
  )
  or any(body.links, strings.starts_with(.href_url.domain.domain, "xn--"))
)

Author

ajpc500

Data Sources

Email MessagesEmail HeadersEmail Attachments

Platforms

References

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-lookalike-domains-and-favicons-for-credit-card-theft/

Tags

Attack surface reduction

Raw Content

name: "Link to a domain with punycode characters"
description: |
  The body contains a link to a domain with Punycode characters to hide the true URL destination, or contains non-printable ASCII content.
references:
  - "https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-lookalike-domains-and-favicons-for-credit-card-theft/"
type: "rule"
authors:
  - twitter: "ajpc500"
severity: "medium"
source: |
  type.inbound
  and (
    any(body.links,
        .href_url.domain.punycode is not null and .href_url.domain.valid == true
    )
    or any(body.links, strings.starts_with(.href_url.domain.domain, "xn--"))
  )

tags:
  - "Attack surface reduction"
attack_types:
  - "Credential Phishing"
tactics_and_techniques:
  - "Evasion"
  - "Lookalike domain"
  - "Punycode"
detection_methods:
  - "Sender analysis"
  - "URL analysis"
id: "74b3698c-d75e-52db-9596-48af93817822"