INFOGRAPHIC
World ’ s most dangerous malware disrupted through global action
It has been reported that the world ’ s most dangerous malware has been disrupted . The operation highlights the importance of global collaboration between countries and law enforcement to prevent cybercriminal activity worldwide .
The EMOTET group managed to take email as an attack vector to a next level . Through a fully automated process , EMOTET malware was delivered to the victims ’ computers via infected email attachments . A variety of different lures were used to trick unsuspecting users into opening these malicious attachments .
Law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide have disrupted one of the most significant botnets of the past decade : EMOTET . Investigators have now taken control of its infrastructure in an international coordinated action .
What made EMOTET so dangerous is that the malware was offered for hire to other cybercriminals to install other types of malware .
This operation is the result of a collaborative effort between authorities in the Netherlands , Germany , the US , the UK , France , Lithuania , Canada and Ukraine , with international activity co-ordinated by Europol and Eurojust . This operation was carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats ( EMPACT ).
EMOTET has been one of the most professional and long-lasting cybercrime services out there . First discovered as a banking Trojan in 2014 , the malware evolved into the go-to solution for cybercriminals over the years .
The EMOTET infrastructure essentially acted as a primary door opener for computer systems on a global scale . Once this unauthorised access was established , these were sold to other top-level criminal groups to deploy further illicit activities such as data theft and extortion through ransomware .
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