The easiest type of link to generate is a "Web bug / URL token" which will trigger an alert whenever someone clicks on the link or shares it. While testing, I was able to show that canary tokens hidden behind shortened URLs work almost exactly the same as posting the raw link. If you own your own web domain, you can also have your web domain route to the Canary token URL, but for anyone who just wants to try this out, Bit.ly works fine. We can abuse these by using a URL shortener to create a less suspicious looking link to include in a Slack or Skype chat.
These services create a tunnel from a shortened URL to a much longer one, allowing users to more easily share long URLs. One way of hiding URLs that is popular among hackers is to use URL shorteners like Goo.gl (which is shutting down for good on March 30, 2019) or Bit.ly.
#Best way to use canary mail full#
To get around the fact that Canary tokens very obviously link back to a website full of information about what they are, it's best to hide the link as much as possible. While Slack and Skype were some of the worst offenders, this trick works in several other types of instant messaging applications as well. While this is pretty exciting, the link generated for Canary tokens still does look a little suspicious. This means by sharing a link in a group chat of many different messengers, you can monitor when anyone new joins the chat, even if no one clicks on the link. In testing, I found that Slack messenger actually triggers an alert any time a member of the chat connects to the channel the Canary token is shared in. This means that a Skype server actually connects to the Canary token URL, giving us a result like the one below. He learned that any time a link is shared in certain private messengers, a link preview is generated to show a thumbnail of the webpage. In an incident reported by Bellingcat, a penetration tester discovered that his phishing server had been discovered after noticing a Skype server connecting to it. One unique property of Canary tokens is that your target doesn't need to click on the link in order to trigger the token. Skype & Slack User Tracking with Canary Tokens Depending on how you deploy them, they can detect when someone clicks a link, opens an email, shares a file, or otherwise interacts with the tracking link. By getting a hacker to do their worst against a fake network, defenders can learn more about who is behind an attack and what tools criminal hackers use.Ĭanary tokens are designed to be so simple anyone can use them. Honeypots will try to get an attacker to use whatever malware or tactics they use to exploit a system within a fake environment that poses no risk. A blue team watching for these fake credentials can then detect any time someone attempts to log in to a service on the network using them, alerting them that an attacker has gained access.Ī honeypot is a more elaborate way of trapping attackers, creating fake systems to attack while trying to learn as much as possible about the attacker. Honeytokens use fake login credentials that are stored in an insecure file on the network, encouraging attackers to try to use them. Honeypots, honeytokens, and other types of traps for attackers are not a new idea.
What Is a Canary Token?Ī canary token is a unique link designed to detect when someone clicks on it, shares it, or interacts with it in some way. Canary tokens come in several useful types and can be used even through URL shorteners. Thanks to the way many apps fetch a URL preview for links shared in private chats, canary tokens can even phone home when someone checks a private chat without clicking the link. Canary tokens are customizable tracking links useful for learning about who is clicking on a link and where it's being shared.
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