A cybersecurity analyst observes a surge in posts across various social media platforms promoting an exceptional offer on their company's products. The promotion is accompanied by a link using a URL shortening service and is not part of a known marketing campaign. What should the analyst do FIRST to investigate this anomaly?
Review recent records of inbound network traffic to determine if there has been any unusual activity that matches the social media surge.
Increase the number of external intelligence feeds focused on identification of branded hashtags to check for similar patterns.
Expand the shortened link to discern its actual destination and verify whether it points to a legitimate source or a potentially harmful website.
Conduct a malware analysis on endpoints to identify if any recently detected threats are related to the postings.
The correct answer is to investigate the legitimacy of the link because it carries the potential risk of a phishing attack that exploits social engineering by promising enticing deals. Unwary users may be lured into clicking links that could lead to malicious sites. This step is crucial before any broader threat analysis because it directly tackles the immediate irregularity observed on social media. The other options are not the initial response to the situation because they do not directly address the immediate concern raised by these non-validated promotions.
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