False Allegations, Real Threats: Sexual Misconduct Claims Used as Phishing Lures

Cofense Intelligence documents a targeted phishing campaign impersonating university presidents/deans to trick recipients—particularly at health‑care affiliated universities—into downloading Zoho Assist (an abused legitimate RAT) via Google Drive links and other hosts; successful infections grant remote access to emails, documents, and sensitive data, risking breaches and regulatory noncompliance. The report includes campaign analysis, examples (ATRs/IOCs), observed TTPs (Google Drive redirect, newly registered domains, reused templates), and recommended mitigations such as legal verification, cautious handling of required installs, heightened monitoring, and human-vetted threat intelligence.