Formbook Malware Surge: Rising Cyber Threats in the Czech Republic

Formbook is attacking in waves in the Czech Republic. And as it turns out now, after the spring lull, cybercriminals have been using this threat recently.

After a few months, this uninvited visitor was very active at the end of this year, rising from 4.14% in January to 9.61% in February. Since then, however, he was constantly weakening. In March, its share was 7.36%, in April 3.35%, and in May it was only 2.88%.

But then there was a turning point. In June, the share among other risks was already at 4.39%, in July 10.74% and in August 10.12%. According to the latest statistics, the share of this attack increased to 16.01% in September.

This is the highest value so far this year. In addition, other malicious codes targeting the Windows platform currently only have a share in the percentage units. This also clearly shows how big the Formbook threat is right now.

Formbook is stealth malware that steals credentials from web browsers, takes screenshots, tracks keystrokes, and can download and execute files based on commands from a command and control server. The malware only attacks Windows machines.

Users may not even know their phone or tablet is infected with Formbook. “He uses a number of tricks and techniques to avoid detection. It is usually spread through phishing e-mails and attachments, so the best way to prevent infections is to keep a close eye on all e-mails that look suspicious or that come from unknown senders,” Check Point security expert Tomáš Růžička previously warned.

According to Eset, Spyware Formbook was most active since the beginning of September. The attackers spread it through spam emails containing the link “PO#86637.exe”.

The .exe extension should be a warning to users that they should not open the link at all. It indicates an executable file. Any such link must be deleted immediately, including the offending email, of course.