Rise of LNK (Shortcut files) Malware

This McAfee Labs analysis documents a rise in malicious Windows LNK (shortcut) files used to deliver Emotet, IcedID, and Qakbot via email and malicious URLs; it details infection chains where LNKs invoke cmd.exe, PowerShell, MSHTA and other Windows utilities to write and execute staged payloads, and provides technical indicators (SHA-256 hashes and URLs) and detection labels for defenders.