Business Email Compromise investigation on BTLO — a CFO mailbox was used to authorise fraudulent pension-fund transfers. The investigation traces the phishing source, the attacker sign-ins, the destination bank, and the inbox rules used to hide the evidence.
| Step | Objective | Key Findings | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – Identify the initial phishing source | Locate the malicious email that started the compromise. | Suspicious sender: sabastian@flanaganspensions.co.uk – look-alike phishing domain. | Email headers & message details |
| 2 – Determine the type of compromise | Classify the attack vector. | Business Email Compromise (BEC) – attacker used valid credentials to send fraudulent transfers. | No malware observed; activity originated from CFO mailbox |
| 3 – Trace attacker IPs | Identify unauthorized sign-in sources. | 159.203.17.81 and 95.181.232.30 – anomalous geo-locations aligned with transaction timing. | Azure AD sign-in logs filtered for victim (Becky) |
| 4 – Identify the destination bank | Determine where funds were transferred. | First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. (SWIFT: FBNINGLA) | SWIFT code found in compromised email threads |
| 5 – Detect inbox folder creation | Check for persistence or activity hiding mechanisms. | Folder named “History” created via inbox rule. | Azure audit log showing "MoveToFolder" event |
| 6 – Analyse malicious rule keyword | Understand filtering behavior. | Rule deleted emails containing “Withdrawal” | Rule log: SubjectOrBodyContainsWords="Withdrawal"; DeleteMessage=True |
159.203.17.8195.181.232.30