Dirk Harz

Researcher with X-Force Content Security

Dirk Harz is a security researcher and engineer with the IBM X-Force team. His expertise spans a range of content security areas including spam filtering, web filtering, Internet application profile and IP reputation. He holds a Diploma of Mathematics from the University of Göttingen in Germany.

Malware October 10, 2018

The Many Faces of Necurs: How the Botnet Spewed Millions of Spam Emails for Cyber Extortion

5 min read - IBM X-Force researchers observed the Necurs botnet spewing millions of spam emails from more than 30,000 malicious IPs to extort bitcoin from victims who may or may not have viewed adult content.

Advanced Threats September 5, 2018

Threat Actors Peddling Weaponized IQY Files Via Necurs Botnet

5 min read - Threat actors have taken a liking to IQY files, which are foreign to most users and appear benign to many spam filters.

Malware June 28, 2018

Goal! Spam Campaigns Capitalize on the World Cup Craze

6 min read - IBM X-Force researchers observed several ongoing spam campaigns tied to the World Cup — many of which used the official branding of tournament sponsors to lure victims.

Malware February 12, 2018

Necurs Spammers Go All In to Find a Valentine’s Day Victim

4 min read - The cybergang behind the Necurs botnet launched a massive romance-themed spam campaign in the lead up to Valentine's Day, impersonating single Russian women looking for dates online.

Failed to load data

Topic updates

Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research.

Subscribe today

Analysis and insights from hundreds of the brightest minds in the cybersecurity industry to help you prove compliance, grow business and stop threats.

Cybersecurity News By Topic By Industry Exclusive Series X-Force Podcast Events Contact About Us

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

Dirk Harz

The Many Faces of Necurs: How the Botnet Spewed Millions of Spam Emails for Cyber Extortion

Threat Actors Peddling Weaponized IQY Files Via Necurs Botnet

Goal! Spam Campaigns Capitalize on the World Cup Craze

Necurs Spammers Go All In to Find a Valentine’s Day Victim

{{{title}}}

Topic updates