Qakbot Takedown Aftermath Mitigations and Protecting Against Future Threats
01-Dec-23
Recently, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) worked together on a global operation to take down the infamous Qakbot botnet and malware. Although this long-standing threat was successfully neutralized by the operation, worries have been raised since it seems like Qakbot may still be dangerous in a diminished capacity. This page addresses the fallout from the takedown, suggests mitigating techniques, and gives advice on identifying previous infestations.Law enforcement obtained court orders to remotely remove the Qakbot malware from compromised devices during the takedown operation. It was found that a significant number of devices had been affected by the virus, with 700,000 machines vulnerable worldwide at the time of takedown, including 200,000 computers in the United States.
