Russian Hackers are Using Microsoft Windows to Spy

The hackers are targeting the Ukrainian government, a European government agency, two European companies and a United States scholar

• By Matt Holden
• Oct 14, 2014

According to a report, Russian hackers are taking advantage of a bug in Microsoft Windows to spy on the Ukrainian government, a European government agency, two European companies, and a scholar living in the United States. iSight Partners, a cybersecurity intelligence firm release a reported in which they discovered the never-before-seen attack.

The bug hackers have used to spy on the governments and companies exists in all modern versions of Windows: Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1. It’s also present in 2008 and 2012, meaning the majority of the world’s computers – an estimated 68% -- are vulnerable to the attack. Microsoft has since launched a patch after seeing the report.

Hackers were spotted sending phishing emails to Ukrainian government officials. The emails included a malware-laced PowerPoint attachment which is tailored to spy on computers by steal emails and documents. iSight says the complexity of the attack leads them to believe Russian hackers with government ties were responsible.