The FBI said in a public service announcement that cyber criminals are using traffic distribution systems to gain access to victim networks for financial scams.
Traffic distribution systems, or TDS, is technology that is used to route internet traffic visitors to different destinations after users visit webpages, click advertising links, sign up for promotions and discounts, or download applications. Cyber criminals use TDSs to redirect some users to compromised or fake login websites that can host phishing pages as part of an online financial fraud. The criminals also use TDSs to prompt users to download software updates that contain malware.
The agency is recommending consumers exercise caution when clicking on advertisements, keep software updated, use security plugins and firewalls, and harden login security. For businesses, the agency is recommending business owners change the default file associations for js files, monitor endpoint, train users and build awareness, and to audit and patch web hosting administration.
The FBI said cyber criminals drive users through a variety of methods then use TDS to bypass traditional firewall rules that would otherwise block connections to malicious websites. Cyber criminals also use the TDS to analyze potential victims to target by e collecting their IP addresses, operating system, location, device, and browser information, and then exploit that website visitor device at the end of the TDS redirection to deliver phishing pages, financial scams and malware to the users.
The FBI is also asking anyone who has been the victim of a TDS intrusion to report it with their local police department, file a claim with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov, or call a local FBI Field Office.