Russia Bugs Ukraine Government Offices with Spyware

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Putin-backed hackers strike as tensions escalate between Moscow and the West.

Snake, an espionage tool linked to Moscow, has been found in the computers of Ukraine’s prime minister and various embassies of its allies in Eastern Europe. 

“Sensitive diplomatic information has been made available to the perpetrators of the attack as a result,” the Financial Times reports.

The cyber assault against Eastern Europe started with the infection of 84 high-profile websites that the attackers knew were visited by government, defense industry and diplomatic service employees. The tainted websites then passed on spyware to the visitors’ machines.

Dozens of computers in the Ukrainian prime minister's office and at least 10 of Ukraine's embassies abroad have been compromised.

The operation also has affected embassies in at least nine other countries, including Germany, China, Poland and Belgium.

Read the rest at ThreatWatchNextgov’s regularly updated index of cyber breaches.

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(Image via dencg/Shutterstock.com)