
Fake Window, Real Loss: Browser-in-the-Browser Steam Phishing
A Counter-Strike 2 player on the community team at Voltline Interactive clicks a phishing email offering a free in-game case from a well-known esports team. The link leads to a scam site that paints a fake browser pop-up, complete with a fake Steam URL bar, entirely in HTML. The victim types their Steam credentials into the fake window and cannot sign in minutes later. Walk the email gateway and proxy logs step by step, from the lure to the moment the password left the browser.
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Investigation Tasks
Complete each task by investigating alerts and submitting your findings.
Brief: a free case that cost an account
0A community manager reported losing access to their Steam account this afternoon, right after claiming what looked like a free Counter-Strike 2 case. Before you dig into the logs, get oriented on how this kind of attack works.
Trace the lure to its sender
15Start at the email gateway. Three messages reached Marko's mailbox that afternoon and the gateway logged what it made of each one. Work out which message is the lure, then recover the full sender address behind it.
Find where the scam domain really points
15Marko clicked the link. Before the page could load, the workstation had to turn that domain into an address. Use the proxy's DNS records to identify the host the giveaway site actually answers on.
Fingerprint the scam page
15The attacker did not build this page once. Recover the reused page title that would let you recognise the same template wherever else it is deployed.
Find where the stolen password was sent
15Marko typed a Steam username and password into the fake pop-up. The URL bar in that window said one thing; the browser did another. Identify the domain that actually received the credentials.
Classify the deception technique
10Step back from the individual indicators and classify the deception itself. Marko was not beaten by a vulnerability and not by malware; he was beaten by a window that was not a window. Name the MITRE ATT&CK technique that covers what the attacker did to make that window work, at parent-technique level.
6 tasks · 70 points total
Training Tools
Skills You'll Build
Ideal for newcomers to SOC operations. Guided investigation with clear indicators.
Prerequisites
- No prior experience required
- Familiarity with Email concepts
- Familiarity with SIEM concepts
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