February 19, 2021 Implementation of Alerts to Users of Devices Infected with Malware

Attack emails that induce infection with malware called Emotet are widely received by organizations in Japan and overseas. Infection with Emotet can lead to damage, such as information leaks and infection with other malware.
Until this month, foreign investigative authorities had provided the National Police Agency with information about domestic devices infected with Emotet. Utilizing this information, from late this month, as soon as preparations are made, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will implement an initiative through Internet service providers (hereafter referred to as “ISPs”) to alert users of devices infected with Emotet.

1. Overview

Attack emails that induce infection with malware called Emotet are widely received by organizations in Japan and overseas. If infected with Emotet, there is a possibility of suffering damage, such as information leakage from infected terminals and infection with other malware.
Until this month, foreign investigative authorities had provided the National Police Agency with information about domestic devices infected with Emotet. From late this month, MIC will provide information to ISPs as soon as preparations are made. ISPs will identify the users of devices described in the information and call their attention to this matter. MIC will implement this initiative in collaboration with the National Police Agency, ICT-ISAC, and ISPs.

2. Response to users’ inquiries

The NOTICE Support Center^*, which has been established by MIC, will explain necessary measures to device users that are subject to caution in this initiative by responding to inquiries through the website of the NOTICE Support Center or by telephone.

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  NOTICE Support Center
  Tel.: 0120-769-318 (toll-free, landline calls only), 03-4346-3318 (charged)
  https://notice.go.jp/en

Users will not be billed or asked for their passwords from their ISPs or the NOTICE Support Center.

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  NOTICE Support Center responds to inquiries from users under the initiative named National Operation Towards IoT Clean Environment (NOTICE) to call attention to all users of IoT devices that may be misused in cyberattacks.