In January of this year, it was reported that the infrastructure for the Emotet botnet had been taken down in a coordinated international law enforcement effort. Last week brought news that Emotet is “back by popular demand,” as it has been resurrected by its former operators.
Emotet, one of the most widely distributed forms of malware, is referred to as a “Swiss Army Knife,” because it offers attackers a number of methods of infection and subsequent malicious actions. Once a target device is infected with Emotet, the malware’s operators may use it to download additional payloads for the purposes of credential stealing, banking fraud, ransomware, and more.
Emotet can infiltrate UW systems and networks if someone opens an email attachment or clicks on a link that leads to an infected website. It is important to think before you click any link or download any attachment–even if you think you recognize the sender.
For more information, read our Emotet Malware Report and/or review our 7-minute online training.
Resources
Bleeping Computer:
Emotet botnet comeback orchestrated by Conti ransomware gang (January 27, 2021)
Emotet botnet disrupted after global takedown operation (November 19, 2021)