European authorities take down ‘most dangerous’ malware network

European authorities take down ‘most dangerous’ malware network

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The malware, Emotet, gained access to users’ computers through infected email attachments, including documents that purport to be “invoices, shipping notices and information about Covid-19,” said European police agency Europol, which coordinated the effort, in a statement on Wednesday.

“The Emotet infrastructure has essentially acted as a primary door opener for computer systems on a global scale,” said Europol. “Once this unauthorized access was established, they were sold to other high-profile criminal groups to engage in other illegal activities, such as data theft and extortion.”

The global effort to stop and take control of the compromised network, known as the botnet, was carried out jointly by eight countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. The network consisted of several hundred servers worldwide, Europol said.
An investigation by the Dutch police has resulted in a database of email addresses, passwords and usernames that have been compromised by Emotet. Users can check whether their email addresses have been breached through this link.
The malware resurfaced last year, according to the U.S. Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Security Agency (CISA), which described “a significant increase in malicious cyber attackers targeting state and local governments” with Emotet phishing emails. “This increase made Emotet one of the most prevalent ongoing threats, “added CISA.

Europol urged Internet users to update their devices’ antivirus tools and to take more care to avoid falling victim to malware attacks.

“Users should carefully check their e-mails and avoid opening messages and especially attachments from unknown senders,” the document said. “If a message sounds too good to be true, it probably is and emails that beg for a sense of urgency should be avoided at all costs.”

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