| In recent days, there has been an increase in attacks by the Emotet malware, designed in 2014 with the aim of recording personal data and stealing financial data. This virus spreads and infects through normal-looking emails, which often pass through computer filters and are not detected by most antivirus programs. The sender in the email appears to be or is related to a trusted or known address. However, once the email is opened the address is different and if the attached document is opened, which appears empty, the malicious program is entered. The virus can also hijack websites and inject malicious scripts that download and install Emotet on the computer. Emotet emails may contain images of well-known brands designed to look like legitimate emails. Users are tempted to click on the malicious files using tempting language about “Your Invoice,” “Payment Information,” or possibly an upcoming shipment from well-known courier companies. This is spoofing, that is, an identity theft in which an attacker pretends to be a different entity through the falsification of data, generally for malicious or investigative purposes. The immediate effect is the mass sending of emails to existing recipients in the outbox. Emotet is more focused on infecting government organizations, corporations, and SMEs, but individual users are also at risk. |
