NEWS
Emotet returns after
five-month hiatus
Nokia 5G SA
private wireless
network
selected by
Sandvik to
advance Digital
Transformation
in mining
Nokia has announced that Sandvik
Mining and Rock Technology will
deploy a Nokia 5G SA industrial-grade
private wireless network at its test mine in
Tampere, Finland.
Based on Nokia Digital Automation Cloud
(DAC), the 5G standalone (SA) network
will be used to enhance communications
and connectivity at the facility, a real-life
mining environment where Sandvik Mining
and Rock Technology tests, develops
and prototypes mining solutions for its
customers worldwide.
More than 160 days after the last
observed Emotet delivery via email,
Proofpoint researchers have confirmed
its return. More recently, they have
observed Emotet delivering third-party
payloads such as Qbot, The Trick, IcedID
and Gootkit. Additionally, Emotet loads
its modules for spamming, credential
stealing, email harvesting and spreading
on local networks.
Proofpoint has observed nearly a
quarter of a million Emotet messages
sent on July 17, 2020, and the number
continues to climb. The threat actor,
TA542, appears to have targeted
multiple verticals across the US and
UK with English language lures. These
messages contain malicious Microsoft
Word attachments or URLs linking to
Email lure with
malicious Word
doc attachment
Word documents, often pointing to
compromised WordPress hosts.
Similar to lures observed previously, these
are simple, with minimal customisation.
Subject lines like ‘RE:’, ‘Invoice #’
followed by a fake invoice number are
commonly seen and often include the
name of the organisation being targeted.
Sherrod DeGrippo, Senior Director,
Threat Research and Detection at
Proofpoint, said: “Emotet’s infrastructure
is test-and metric-driven and is built to
scale depending on what’s working.
Hence, it is important that security
teams continue to secure their email
channel and educate users regarding
the increased risks associated with
potentially malicious email attachments
to protect against this form of attack.”
The network will enable fast, reliable and
secure voice and video communications
in a mining setting, which presents highly
challenging deployment conditions.
Its 5G capability will also be used for
automated mining processes, enabling
remote machine operations over 4K video
links between deep underground and the
surface control centre.
Patrick Murphy, President, Rock Drills and
Technologies, Sandvik Mining and Rock
Technology, said: “By deploying a Nokia
5G SA private wireless network with Nokia
Digital Automation Cloud, we can trial and
showcase an entirely new range of gamechanging
products and capabilities here in
our Tampere test mine.
“As we work with our customers to help
them leverage technology to digitalise
their operations, the introduction of 5G
opens the door to new opportunities
in robotics, remote and autonomous
operations, full-fleet automation,
analytics and enhanced safety. As such,
it comprises a breakthrough in the Digital
Transformation of mining.”
12 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com