Cyber Notify Receives DHS S&T Global Award for Alerting Businesses of Spoofed Domains Before Fraud Damages

The Cyber Notify project ( http://cybernotify.org ) identifies new suspicious domain registrations in near real time then notifies affected companies to expect a phishing email from those domains.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2019
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Technology, Internet, Software, Security, Small business, Public policy, Government, Law enforcement, Emergency services, Homeland security, Public policy, Professional services, Legal, Cybercrime, Government, Security engineering, Human behavior, Cyberwarfare, National security, Phishing, Social engineering, Spamming, United States Department of Homeland Security, Computer security, DHS Cyber Security Division
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Summary
Key Points: 
  • The Cyber Notify project ( http://cybernotify.org ) identifies new suspicious domain registrations in near real time then notifies affected companies to expect a phishing email from those domains.
  • Spoofed domains that closely match an organizations name, called a homoglyph, are a common tactic used to trick employees into taking financial actions or sharing sensitive information.
  • Once detected by Cyber Notify technology, spoofed domains are prioritized by specially trained analysts based on country and impact on critical infrastructure.
  • The Cyber Notify pilot was initially funded by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Cyber Security Division (CSD) as a new research initiative focused on the best way to alert small businesses to potential threats ( https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/news/2017/05/02/snapshot-diss... ).


Based on advanced algorithms and specialized expertise, the Cyber Notify
pilot project developed by Dissect Cyber received a Department of
Homeland Security Science and Technology global innovation award today
for its proven ability to help defend against spoofed domains used for
phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) exploitations. The
project’s team has helped stop over 1,500 companies from losing more
than $407 million through the 15,000 rapid cyber notifications it has
issued in the past two years, according to April Lorenzen, Dissect Cyber
CEO.

The Cyber Notify project (http://cybernotify.org)
identifies new suspicious domain registrations in near real time then
notifies affected companies to expect a phishing email from those
domains. For example, after receiving a Cyber Notify call that a
look-alike domain had been registered for his organization, a company
officer stopped the finance department from issuing funds requested in a
fake email. Spoofed domains that closely match an organization’s name,
called a homoglyph, are a common tactic used to trick employees into
taking financial actions or sharing sensitive information.

Once detected by Cyber Notify technology, spoofed domains are
prioritized by specially trained analysts based on country and impact on
critical infrastructure. The highest priority records are instantly
distributed to notification specialists who track down contact
information for the affected company and call the best available
department.

A third of the notifications over the last two years were completed
within two hours of the illicit domain registration. The project’s team
is built on mission-focused U.S. veterans trained to perform the
analysis, make calls and send email notifications directly to targeted
businesses.

The Cyber Notify pilot was initially funded by the DHS’ Science and
Technology Directorate (S&T) Cyber Security Division (CSD) as a new
research initiative focused on the best way to alert small businesses to
potential threats (https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/news/2017/05/02/snapshot-dissect-cyber-alerts-small-businesses-targeted).
The “S&T-Funded Performer Award: Cyber Is A Global Sport” was presented
to Lorenzen and the pilot project team during the 2019 S&T Cybersecurity
and Innovation Showcase held March 18-20 in Washington, D.C.

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