Emotet : An introduction to a world’s most dangerous malware

Emotet which was first identified in 2014, continues to infect systems and hurt users to the current day, that’s why we’re still talking about it, unlike other trends from 2014. Emotet was originally designed as a banking malware that attempted to get into your computer and steal sensitive and personal information. This version was later on dubbed to Emotet version two which came in packaged with several modules, including a money transfer system, malspam module, and a banking module that targeted German and Austrian banks. Latest version of this trojan saw the addition of spamming and malware delivery services also including other banking Trojans.

The functionality which Emotet uses helps the trojan avoid detection by some anti-malware products. It’s worm-like capabilities help Emotet spread to other connected computers. This helps in distribution of the malware. This functionality has led the Department of Homeland Security to conclude that Emotet is one among the foremost costly and destructive malware, affecting government and personal sectors, individuals and organizations, and costing upwards of $1M per incident to clean up.

What is Emotet ?

Emotet is a Trojan that’s primarily spread through spam emails (malspam). The infection may enter into your system either via malicious script, macro-enabled document files, or malicious link. Emotet emails may contain familiar branding designed to appear sort of a legitimate email. Emotet may attempt to persuade users to click the malicious files by using tempting language about “Your Invoice,” “Payment Details,” or possibly an upcoming shipment from well-known parcel companies.

Emotet has gone through some iterations. Early versions arrived as a malicious JavaScript file. Later versions started using macro-enabled documents to get the virus payload from command and control servers run by the attackers. Emotet uses a variety of tricks to try and stop detection and analysis. Notably, Emotet knows if it’s running inside a virtual machine (VM) and can lay dormant if it detects a sandbox environment, which is a tool cybersecurity researchers use to watch malware within a secure, controlled space.

Emotet also uses C&C servers to receive updates. This works in the same way as the operating system updates on your PC and may happen seamlessly and without any outward signs. this permits the attackers to put in updated versions of the malware, install additional malware like other banking Trojans, or to act as a dumping ground for stolen information like financial credentials, sensitive credentials like usernames and passwords, and emails.

How Emotet Malware spreads ?

The distribution method for Emotet is through malspam. Emotet runs through your contacts list and sends itself to your friends, family, coworkers and clients. Most of the time, the emails contain an infected Word document that the recipient is meant to download or a dangerous link. Since these emails are coming from your hijacked email account, the emails look less like spam and also the recipients, feeling safe, are more inclined to click bad URLs and download infected files.

If a connected network is present, Emotet spreads using a list of known passwords, guessing its way onto other connected systems during a brute-force ­attack. If the password to the all-important human resources server is solely “password” then it’s likely Emotet will find its way there.

Researchers initially thought Emotet also spread using the EternalBlue/DoublePulsar vulnerabilities, which were to blame for the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks. Just know that this is not the case. What led researchers to the present conclusion was the actual fact that TrickBot, a Trojan often spread by Emotet, makes use of the EternalBlue exploit to spread itself across a given network. it had been TrickBot, not Emotet, taking advantage of the EternalBlue/DoublePulsar vulnerabilities.

Who all are targeted by Emotet ?

Everyone is a target for Emotet. To date, Emotet has hit individuals, companies, and government organizations across the US and Europe, stealing banking logins, financial data, and even Bitcoin wallets.

In 2018, after being infected with Emotet, the Fuerstenfeldbruck hospital in Germany had to pack up 450 computers and exit from the rescue center in a trial to manage the infection. In September 2019, the Berlin Court of Appeal was affected, and in December 2019 the University of Giessen. The Medical University of Hannover and therefore the city administration of Frankfurt am Main were also infected by Emotet. One noteworthy Emotet attack on the town of Allentown, PA, required direct help from Microsoft’s incident response team to wash up and reportedly cost town upwards of $1M to repair. These are just some samples of Emotet infections, the undisclosed number of affected companies is estimated to be much higher. It’s also assumed that several infected companies didn’t want to report their breach for fear of damaging their reputation.

Now that Emotet is getting used to downloading and delivering other banking Trojans, the list of targets is potentially even broader. Early versions of Emotet were wont to attack banking customers in Germany. Later versions of Emotet targeted organizations in Canada, the UK, and therefore the US.

How can you prevent yourself from Emotet ?

• Keep your computer/endpoints up-to-date with the newest patches for Microsoft Windows. TrickBot is usually delivered as a secondary Emotet payload, and that we know TrickBot depends on the Windows EternalBlue vulnerability to try to do its dirty work, so patch that vulnerability before the cybercriminals can make the most of it.
• Back up your data regularly to a secondary storage device. within the event of an infection, you may always have a backup to fall back on and you may not lose all the information on your device.
• Don’t download any suspicious attachments or click a shady-looking link. Emotet can’t get that initial foothold on your system or network if you avoid those suspect emails. Take the time to teach your users on the way to spot malspam.
• File extensions: have your computer screen file extensions by default. this permits you to detect dubious files like „Photo123.jpg.exe”. which tend to be malicious programs.
• Educate yourself and your users on creating a robust password. While you’re at it, start using two-factor authentication.
• You can protect yourself and your users from Emotet with a sturdy cybersecurity program that has multi-layered protection.

How can you remove Emotet ?

If you think you’ve already been infected by Emotet, don’t freak out. If your computer is connected to a network — isolate it immediately. Once isolated, proceed to patch and clean the infected system. But you’re not done yet. Because Emotet is polymorphic meaning that its code changes slightly anytime it’s accessed, a cleaned computer is quickly re-infected if it’s connected to an infected network. Therefore, you want to clean all computers connected to your network — one after the other. Use an antivirus program to assist you are doing this. Alternatively, you’ll also contact a specialist, like your antivirus software provider for guidance and help.

Recent Takedown of this malware

EMOTET was far more than simply a malware. What made EMOTET so dangerous is that the malware was offered for hire to other cybercriminals to put in other kinds of malware, like banking Trojans or ransomwares, onto a victim’s computer.

This type of attack is termed a ‘loader’ operation, and EMOTET is claimed to be one in all the most important players within the cybercrime world as other malware operators like TrickBot and Ryuk have benefited from it.

Its unique way of infecting networks by spreading the threat laterally after gaining access to only some devices within the network made it one among the foremost resilient malware within the wild.

Europol announced on 27th January 2021 that a worldwide coalition of enforcement agencies across the US, Canada, the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Lithuania, and Ukraine had disrupted Emotet. The global effort, called Operation Ladybird, coordinated with private security researchers to disrupt and take over Emotet’s command-and-control infrastructure — located in more than 90 countries, according to Ukrainian police — while simultaneously arresting a minimum of two of the cybercriminal crew’s Ukrainian members.

To take down Emotet, police and an outsized group of security industry professionals worked together to simultaneously hijack many Emotet command-and-control servers, consistent with one security researcher in an industry working group focused on tracking and disrupting the botnet, who asked to not be named. to chop the strings of the botnet’s puppeteers, they silently placed their own machines at the IP addresses of these command-and-control computers — many of which had been hacked PCs the Emotet gang used to manage the botnet and send instructions to victim computers.

The security researcher who participated within the takedown confirmed that the operation monitored the hackers’ backup processes to make sure that there have been no unknown, hidden recovery techniques, and he believes that each one backups were disrupted. “We found their backups and the way they use them, and that we took all of them,” the researcher said. “It’s going to be very hard for them to recover, and whether or not they are doing, we’ve other tools up our sleeve to combat that.” The infected machines of victims are redirected towards this law enforcement-controlled infrastructure. This is often a novel and new approach to effectively disrupt the activities of the facilitators of cybercrime.