New Delhi, July 29: CERT-In has reportedly issued a warning about a new phishing attack targeting users affected by a recent global outage. As per reports, the phishing attackers pose as support staff from the cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike. The alert comes in response to a major Microsoft outage that caused widespread issues on July 19, 2024, resulting in the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Windows operating systems.

As per a report of Times Now, CERT-In, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, has warned about the phishing attack, where attackers are impersonating as CrowdStrike support staff and tricking users into providing sensitive information under the disguise of resolving issues related to the recent global tech outage. The attack is a serious concern as it creates confusion and urgency surrounding the Microsoft crash, which might make it more likely for users to fall for the scam. Microsoft Outage Update: CrowdStrike Responsible for Global IT Outage Offers USD 10 Gift Card As Apology.

It is a concerning situation where attackers are pretending to be CrowdStrike support staff and they are reportedly doing this to mislead users into installing harmful software by offering fake system recovery tools. It has the potential to cause serious problems such as the leakage of sensitive data, system crashes and even data loss so it is important to be cautious and vigilant from falling victim to such malicious activities.

CERT-In’s Recommendations and How To Stay Safe

People are warned about phishing emails, as it may contain harmful links and attachments. Users have been advised by CERT-In to check when getting their emails, especially those stating that they are support staff from CrowdStrike and confirm the source before clicking on any links or attachments. Microsoft Says CrowdStrike Bug Hit 8.5 Million Windows Devices.

To protect yourself and your organisation, it is recommended to set up firewall rules that block connections from suspicious website addresses. Additionally, stay alert for suspicious email attachments and be cautions of unknown phone numbers. As per multiple reports, these URLs, like crowdstrikeoutage.info and www.crowdstrike0day.com, are known to be malicious. It is also important to only download software updates from official and trusted websites.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 29, 2024 01:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).