URL rewriting technology intercepts and modifies URLs within emails, redirecting them through security infrastructure for analysis before allowing user access. This process involves replacing original URLs with modified versions that route through an organization's security platform, enabling real-time threat assessment and blocking of malicious content.

Sophisticated threat actors exploit URL rewriting systems by compromising legitimate email accounts and leveraging the organization's own security infrastructure to legitimize malicious links. When employees click a phishing link in their email, their email address and personal information become immediate targets.

Understanding what to do after phishing attacks begins with recognizing how URL rewriting technology can be manipulated, turning protective infrastructure into attack vectors that bypass traditional security controls.

URL rewriting systems provide comprehensive link protection by combining pre-delivery analysis, real-time sandboxing, and time-of-click verification across multiple security layers.

• Email Interception and URL Analysis: Security platforms scan all incoming emails and replace original URLs with rewritten links that redirect through the organization's security infrastructure.

• Real-Time Sandboxing: Security platforms route rewritten URLs through continuous analysis in secure sandbox environments where they evaluate suspicious content for malicious behavior patterns.

• Time-of-Click Verification: When users click rewritten URLs, the security platform performs final verification checks against current threat intelligence before allowing access to the destination.

• Dynamic Updates and Continuous Monitoring: The system maintains ongoing protection by continuously reassessing previously analyzed URLs against newly discovered threats and updating protection policies in real-time.

URL rewriting implementations vary based on security objectives and deployment architectures, each offering distinct advantages and vulnerabilities.

• Purpose: Routes all email links through security scanning infrastructure for real-time threat analysis

• Key features: Post-delivery protection ensuring links remain safe even if compromised after sending

• Administrative controls: Configure safelists for trusted domains and blocklists for malicious URLs through self-service portals

• Policy management: Different rewriting behaviors based on user roles, departments, or risk levels

• Attack method: Cybercriminals compromise legitimate accounts to send malicious links through trusted systems

• Exploitation technique: Organization's own security solution rewrites malicious URLs, lending false legitimacy

• Advanced tactics: AI-generated adaptive URL patterns with automated domain rotation in legitimate conversation contexts

• Threat vectors: Hijacked email threads where malicious URLs appear contextually appropriate

• Approach: Combines defensive measures with behavioral analytics to identify both legitimate and malicious activities

• Detection capabilities: Analyzes unusual redirect chains, timing correlations, and user interaction patterns

• Integration points: Connects with SIEM platforms, threat intelligence feeds, and incident response workflows

• Behavioral analysis: Establishes baseline patterns to identify deviations indicating potential compromise

URL rewriting provides essential security functions across enterprise environments through multiple implementation scenarios.

URL rewriting within email platforms enables real-time link analysis, protecting users from malicious URLs even when threats emerge after message delivery. This maintains consistent protection across cloud environments while supporting compliance through detailed logging and reporting capabilities.

Applications leverage URL rewriting to sanitize user input, properly encode output, and prevent injection attacks. This technology secures session management through randomized parameters and prevents cross-site scripting by validating URL contexts before processing.

Security platforms use URL rewriting to redirect suspicious links through analysis systems that are updated with real-time threat feeds. This enables immediate protection against newly discovered threats by automatically updating URL reputation databases and detection capabilities across the security infrastructure.

Organizations should consider several critical factors when deploying URL rewriting solutions within enterprise environments to maximize effectiveness while maintaining operational efficiency.

These include the following steps:

• Deployment Considerations: Implement URL rewriting with automatic expiration mechanisms and random session identifiers to limit attack windows while ensuring compatibility with existing email workflows

• Integration with Existing Infrastructure: Configure URL rewriting policies to work seamlessly with authentication frameworks, including DMARC, SPF, and DKIM, while maintaining proper integration with SIEM platforms

• Monitoring and Maintenance: Establish continuous monitoring of URL rewriting patterns through behavioral analytics to detect unusual redirect chains, suspicious timing correlations, and abnormal click-through rates

• Performance Optimization: Deploy URL rewriting solutions that minimize latency impact on legitimate communications while maintaining comprehensive threat detection capabilities through real-time sandboxing

Security teams identify malicious URL rewriting through comprehensive monitoring, behavioral analytics, and specialized detection tools that analyze both technical indicators and behavioral patterns across email and web traffic.

• Monitor unusual URL rewriting patterns, including unexpected redirect chains, suspicious timing correlations across rewritten URLs, and abnormal click-through rates that deviate from established baselines

• Deploy behavioral AI platforms that analyze individual user communication patterns to establish baseline behaviors and detect deviations indicating potential compromise or exploitation attempts

• Configure automated threat detection using machine learning algorithms that identify subtle variations in URL construction patterns, indicating automated generation or manipulation

• Integrate real-time threat intelligence feeds that provide current URL reputation data and IOC updates to enhance detection capabilities across security infrastructure

To learn more about our advanced URL rewriting protection capabilities, book a demo with Abnormal.