Virus Now Has Evolved to Spread Through the Wi-Fi Like a Worm

Security Alert from Crescent IT Systems

The ThreatPost.com reported that a virus seen as a banking trojan in 2014 has evolved over the years and recently has returned as a extremely dangerous malware delivery system.  The Emotet malware has returned with the ability to spread through nearby Wi-Fi networks and to deploy a large collection of malware through new tactics.

Emotet started as a banking trojan malware in 2014 and became the multi-threat delivery system it is today through the work of hackers.  The collection of malware that is spread onto computers include email harvesters, information theft, ransomware, and self deployment packages to further the spread of this malware.

How It Spreads

The new Emotet malware first infects a system and deploys two software modules that is used to help it spread through the Wi-Fi networks.  It first examines the nearby Wi-Fi networks for information to be used to assist in a “Brute-Force password crack” of the passwords on the networks to gain access.  If any of the brute-force password cracking activities are successful, then it then installs another malware package onto all accessible computer systems to continue the propagation of the malware.

Protecting Against the Emotet

Monitoring of computers for this threat is the proactive method to head off the spread.  Look for any new services installed and for anything running from temporary folders.  Crescent IT Systems offers many solutions for cybersecurity network monitoring to identify the malware message content since the network communications of this malware is unencrypted.

It is recommended that the passwords on all Wi-Fi and attached Wi-Fi devices have strong passwords.   It is typical to find that Wi-Fi access points and attached Wi-Fi devices are deployed with either default or simple passwords.   Strong passwords will help to block the spread since the brute force password cracking will fail in most cases with stronger passwords.

Source: ThreatPost.com

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