Kaspersky continues to monitor the activities of Emotet, one of the most dangerous botnets and cybercrime services of the last decade, since it was first detected in 2014. In January 2021, Europol announced the shutdown of Emotet’s operations and arrested key players in the gang. Kaspersky recently detected the increasing activity of this remarkable malware family.
Kaspersky Security Specialist Denis Parinov said: “Examples of Emotet are currently continuing to spread. We detect activity of Emotet members at least twice as much as in previous years, although not on a large scale as before they were arrested. On the other hand, examining new samples, Emotet In particular, examples of Emotet include spam modules responsible for sending emails containing malicious MSOffice documents (with Emot downloaders), as well as passwords from browsers and email clients, emails, and contact in Outlook and Thinderbird. It is actively downloading different modules that are responsible for playing playlists. We will continue to follow Emotet’s new activities closely.”
Here are the precautions users should take to protect themselves from Emotet:
- Security updates: Make sure to install updates provided by manufacturers as soon as possible to eliminate potential security vulnerabilities. This applies to operating systems such as Windows and macOS, as well as all application programs, browsers, browser plug-ins, email clients, Office programs, and PDF programs.
- Antivirus software: Make sure you install an antivirus program such as Kaspersky Internet Security and have this program regularly scan your computer for security vulnerabilities. This will give you the best possible protection against the latest viruses, spyware and other online threats.
- Backups: Back up your data regularly on an external data carrier. In case of an infection, you will always have a backup to go back to and you will not have lost all the data on your computer.
- Passwords: Use only strong passwords for all logins (online banking, email account, e-commerce). In other words, use a random string of letters, numbers, and special characters, not your first dog’s name. You can find them yourself or create them using programs like password managers. Additionally, many programs now offer the option of two-factor authentication.
- File extensions: Make sure that file extensions are displayed on your computer by default. This will help you identify suspicious files like “Vacation snap123.jpg.exe”.
Kaspersky products now detect and block Trickbot (Trojan-Banker. Win32. Trickster) and Emotet (Trojan-Banker. Win32. Emotet), the botnet used to download malware.
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