What is the Emotet Trojan?

It’s an unfortunate reality that today, we’re faced many vulnerabilities and cyber security threats in the online world, from losing file access due to a ransomware attack or falling victim to the latest phishing scam.

In this new digital world, the best defense is eternal vigilance, user training, and a comprehensive layered security approach.

The Emotet Trojan is the latest in a long list of digital threats, but it is already one of the most serious. Here’s what you need to know about the Emotet Trojan and its impact.

For many in the IT security field, the reemergence of the Emotet Trojan is nothing new.

While this particular Trojan is typically targeted at the banking industry, that doesn’t mean businesses in other sectors can let their guard down.

Get steps to protect yourself against Emotet from Sophos Global Malware Specialist Peter Mackenzie. Find out what he’s learned from dealing with Emotet outbreaks.

How Does Emotet Spread?

Emotet is spread through spam, and it is important for all businesses, no matter what their niche, to take part in effective cyber defenses.

One of the major dangers of the Emotet Trojan is how it spreads. Unlike other spam generators, which spread via infected links, Emotet hides out in legitimate looking files – often Word or PDF files. Even the most cautious employees can be tricked, making Emotet particularly dangerous.

The Emotet Trojan has a long history in the business world. In the wild, this destructive email-based threat has created damages in excess of $1 million per incident.

The Emotet Trojan hides out in infected files, which can take a variety of forms. In recent attacks, Emotet has disguised itself as PayPal invoices, PDF documents, and Word files among others. Since these are some of the most commonly used formats in the business world, detection is often difficult.

Emotet Detection and Prevention

To make matters worse, Emotet is known to evade certain signature-based antivirus programs. For this reason, at Ontech Systems, we encourage all businesses to deploy a multilayered approach to security and implement managed IT support as a first line of defense.

Since no single security approach is effective against every type of threat, a combination approach to cyber defense is often the best strategy. That multilayered approach begins with timely software updates, continuous network monitoring, and smart detection of emerging threats as they surface – or in this case re-emerge.

How Does Emotet Infiltrate a Network?

Once a user clicks on an infected attachment, this malicious Trojan seeks to spread itself, looking for additional network nodes. This network spread is built into the Trojan, and that propagation is what makes Emotet so uniquely dangerous.

The damage done by the Emotet Trojan can be widespread, but prevention is always the best defense. If your company network is compromised, Emotet could capture passwords stored on company servers, leaving your business vulnerable to future attacks.

Emotet has also been known to scrape both usernames and email passwords from Outlook address books, leaving users vulnerable to attack on a number of different fronts. In addition, the persistence of this infection can make Emotet difficult to fight, and those affected should seek professional IT support as soon as possible.

Protect Your Network from the Emotet Trojan

Ontech Systems can assist with a wide range of solutions to strengthen the network security in your organization. If you need help with your multilayered defense against this latest threat or any other, just give our support team a call at 262-522-8560 or reach out to us online.