Mail bomb

A mail bomb, also known as an internet bomb, is an email that is sent in bulk with malicious or fraudulent intent. In a mail bomb attack, the attackers send hundreds or thousands of emails in a short period of time. The emails are often addressed to random email addresses or to addresses taken from an email database, and can contain malicious virus payloads, spam, phishing attempts, or malicious content.

Mail bombs are a form of cyber attack and can be used to target both individuals and organizations. They are usually sent with malicious intent, such as to cause disruption of service or to steal confidential data.

Mail bombers use techniques such as address enumeration and open relay to generate an email list and send the emails. Mail bombs can also be used as a form of extortion by threatening to send a large number of emails to a victim unless a ransom is paid.

The most effective defense against mail bombs is for an organization to develop an email policy which outlines the acceptable use of email by its employees and alerts users to any suspicious emails they may receive. Organizations should also make sure that their email server is secure and up to date with the latest security patches and anti-malware tools. Additionally, organizations can use technology such as rate limiting and anti-spam tools to limit the number of emails sent and prevent malicious emails from entering their system.