The move has similarities to the FBI s cleaning-up of infected Microsoft Exchange Server deployments this month, a move that prompted considerable debate when we revealed the same thing could be lawfully done in the UK.
Emotet was particularly nasty in that it spread via malicious attachments in spam emails, and once installed, could bring in additional malware: infected machines were rented out to crooks to install things like ransomware and code that drained victims online bank accounts. Computer security biz Digital Shadows highlighted the extent of the Emotet epidemic, and said its removal is an overall win for everyone:
Prior to law enforcement’s takedown of Emotet, the malware reportedly controlled over one million machines. Emotet is also estimated to have made an almighty haul of over $2 billion over the years. Given the exceptionally large financial losses, the seizure of Emotet was almost certainly deemed to be a necessary objective of law enforcement. In this sense, i