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	"created_at": "2026-04-06T00:06:24.821633Z",
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	"sha1_hash": "29fd7f0fe08088c7a8481b2315cf3942f7e76e66",
	"title": "Emotet emerges as a leader in Malware-as-a-Service",
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	"authors": "",
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	"plain_text": "Emotet emerges as a leader in Malware-as-a-Service\r\nBy Barracuda Networks\r\nPublished: 2020-06-19 · Archived: 2026-04-05 23:41:21 UTC\r\nOne of the reasons that cybercrime has grown so rapidly is that the criminals at the top of the \"food chain\" have\r\nbuilt scalable business models for their crimes.  This allows experienced hacking groups to collaborate, and new\r\ncriminals to leverage the resources of veteran hackers.  \"Crime-as-a-service\" is nothing new, but the tools change\r\nrapidly as crimeware developers work to exploit the latest vulnerabilities and stay ahead of security.  The Emotet\r\nbanking trojan has emerged as a leader in providing malware delivery services to other hacking groups, and you\r\nwill want to make sure you understand and defend against this threat.\r\nThe evolution of Emotet\r\nBanking attacks are sometimes collaborative, but banking trojans do not usually provide services to third party\r\nattackers.  Emotet has been in constant development since it's discovery as a banking trojan in 2014.  Developers\r\nhave added new evasion capabilities, new methods of delivery, and improvements to its core function of stealing\r\ndata.  The long-term success of this malware suggests that it is run by a sophisticated criminal organization, which\r\nis consistent with recent findings that organized crime is responsible for the majority of data breaches.  Here are\r\nsome highlights in the life of Emotet:\r\n2014\r\nEmotet surfaced as a modular malware, designed to steal banking credentials and exfiltrate sensitive information\r\nfrom individual endpoints.  Notable capabilities included evading multi-factor authentication (MFA) and infecting\r\nother systems with its worm-like behavior.\r\n2015\r\nNew evasion capabilities were added that allowed Emotet to detect the presence of a virtual machine.  MFA\r\nevasion was improved and new banking capabilities were added that allowed Emotet to transfer funds from the\r\nvictim to attacker.\r\n2017\r\nEmotet was observed targeting multiple sectors outside of banking.  New capabilities included new anti-analysis\r\ntechniques and a Windows API component that made detection more difficult. \r\n2018\r\nEmotet developers add abilities to steal email content and contact lists, spread itself to infect protected systems,\r\nand deliver other malware. \r\nhttps://blog.barracuda.com/2020/06/19/emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas/\r\nPage 1 of 3\n\nEmotet connects to a command and control server (C2) so that the infected machines become part of the Emotet\r\nbotnet.  It's worth noting here that 'Emotet' refers to both the malware and the criminal organization that develops\r\nthe malware and controls these servers.  The Emotet group uses the C2 servers to install new malware, remotely\r\ncontrol infected machines, and transmit stolen information back to the attacker.  The Emotet infrastructure makes\r\nit possible for other hacking groups to buy access to Emotet-infected machines.  In this way, Emotet acts as\r\nMalware-as-a-Service (MaaS) to distribute third-party malware.\r\nEmotet today\r\nEmotet uses brand impersonation and spear-phishing emails to trick victims into thinking an email is from a\r\ntrusted source.  The email either carries a malicious attachment or will include a link to a compromised website. \r\nOnce the attachment or link is executed, Emotet will begin downloading to the victim's machine.  When the attack\r\ngets underway Emotet will attempt to distribute itself laterally across the network using both wired and wifi\r\nconnections to do this.   \r\nThe US Department of Homeland Security published an alert on this threat which details the attack and warns the\r\npublic,\r\n\"Emotet continues to be among the most costly and destructive malware affecting SLTT governments.\r\nIts worm-like features result in rapidly spreading network-wide infection, which are difficult to combat.\r\nEmotet infections have cost SLTT governments up to $1 million per incident to remediate.\"\r\nA successful Emotet attack can expose sensitive information, interrupt your business, damage your brand\r\nreputation.  Downtime and recovery costs can be devastating.  Allentown (PA) spent $1 million to recover from an\r\nEmotet attack in 2018.  Other notable victims include a large public library and the city of Quincy (MA). \r\nProtect yourself\r\nBecause Emotet has multiple attack capabilities, you need multiple layers of security to fully defend your\r\nnetwork.  Here are some tips to get you started:\r\nMaintain updated endpoint antimalware software and apply updates and patches immediately.\r\nDeploy email protection to block suspicious file attachments as well as indicators such as known URLs,\r\nsubject lines, and IP addresses.\r\nUse a web security gateway that will protect your network from incoming malware.\r\nSecure wifi connections and use the concept of least-privilege access to protect network shares as much as\r\npossible.\r\nProvide security awareness training to network users.\r\nhttps://blog.barracuda.com/2020/06/19/emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas/\r\nPage 2 of 3\n\nFor more information on how to defend your network from threats like Emotet, visit www.barracuda.com\r\nGet your copy of the e-book now\r\nChristine Barry\r\nChristine Barry Senior Chief Cybersecurity Storyteller and Content Manager at Barracuda.  Prior to joining\r\nBarracuda, Christine was a field engineer and project manager for K12 and SMB clients for over 15 years.  She\r\nholds several technology and project management credentials, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Business\r\nAdministration. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.\r\nConnect with Christine on LinkedIn here.\r\nJoin our Reddit community!\r\nSource: https://blog.barracuda.com/2020/06/19/emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas/\r\nhttps://blog.barracuda.com/2020/06/19/emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas/\r\nPage 3 of 3",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"ETDA"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://blog.barracuda.com/2020/06/19/emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas/"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"emotet-emerges-as-a-leader-in-maas"
	],
	"threat_actors": [],
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