White House Officials Fooled by ‘Email Prankster’

White House Officials Fooled by ‘Email Prankster’

Can your employees spot a fake email?

A number of White House officials were reportedly tricked by a self-proclaimed “email prankster” based in the U.K. who posed as other senior White House members to solicit responses.

On one occasion, an official in charge of White House cybersecurity mistook the prankster as President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner and disclosed his personal email address unprompted, CNN reported.

The mystery emailer has also posed as other administration figures, including Eric Trump and Russian ambassador-designate John Huntsman. Pretending to be former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, the anonymous prankster also engaged in a lengthy exchange with Anthony Scaramucci, who at the time was serving as the White House Communications Director before being fired Monday.


White House Press Secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders acknowledged the incident to CNN, saying that they administration takes “all cyber related issues very seriously” and will be “looking into these incidents further.”

The prankster, who refers to himself as a "lazy anarchist" in his Twitter bio, carried out similar shenanigans earlier this year, emailing several bank executives to see if he could elicit a response.

“While these particular incidents were undertaken to be funny, the implications of how easily the individuals involved were entrapped should be clear," VP of product management and strategy at Tripwire, Tim Erlin said. "The difference between this prankster and a serious criminal is only in the disclosure of the results. A serious criminal wouldn’t have shared the outcome with the press. Email spearphishing is a big challenge for cybersecurity, and shouldn’t be taken lightly."

In the cybersecurity world, this is business’ worst nightmare. How do you make sure your employees are able to spot the fake in a world of people willing to try anything to “prank” a person? The worst part about this is a prank is the best thing that could happen, identity theft, data breaches and complete lockdowns of network systems could come of something like this.

Featured

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.