Security News > 2023 > April > Google disrupts the CryptBot info-stealing malware operation
Google is taking down malware infrastructure linked to the Cryptbot info stealer after suing those using it to infect Google Chrome users and steal their data.
"Yesterday, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York unsealed our civil action against the malware distributors of Cryptbot, which we estimate infected approximately 670,000 computers this past year and targeted users of Google Chrome to steal their data," the Head of Litigation Advance Mike Trinh and Threat Analysis Group's Pierre-Marc Bureau said.
To hinder the spread of CryptBot, the court has granted Google a temporary restraining order which allows the company to disrupt the distributors and their infrastructure.
The court empowers Google to take down domains associated with CryptBot distribution, thus helping curb the number of new infections and decelerating the malware network's growth.
CryptBot info stealer is a Windows malware designed to steal sensitive information from victims' computers.
"Recent CryptBot versions have been designed to specifically target users of Google Chrome, which is where Google's CyberCrimes Investigations Group and Threat Analysis Group teams worked to identify the distributors, investigate and take action," Google said.