Rogue Russian Hackers Are Attacking US Embassies

This is probably the work of amateurs.

Global Assault

Russian hackers are targeting several U.S. embassies around the world by imitating State Department officials.

The hacks were traced back to Russian forums, suggesting that they were carried out by tech-savvy amateurs rather than the Russian government, according to The Verge — a startling example of how even unsophisticated attacks can still breach high-level government systems.

Management Software

The hackers targeted people who worked in government financial offices. The hackers sent targets documents that appeared as though they came from the State Department, but were loaded up with malware that installed TeamViewer, a common program that gives people remote access to computers.

From there, the hackers could control the embassy officials' computers — but left a paper trail in the form of their own browsing histories, according to The Verge.

READ MORE: Russian hackers are targeting US embassies, according to new report [The Verge]

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