Hackers attacked the US with malware themed around Venezuela

The Mustang Panda hacker group, linked to the Chinese government, is allegedly behind a cyber espionage campaign targeting US government institutions and politically active entities.

The group used phishing emails with a Venezuelan theme shortly after the US took action against President Nicolás Maduro.

Researchers at Acronis discovered a ZIP file titled "The US is now deciding the future of Venezuela," which contained malware linked to Mustang Panda's previous activities. According to experts, this was a quick response to current geopolitical events, even at the cost of lower attack quality.

It is not yet clear whether there was any actual disruption to the systems, but the malware allowed data theft and permanent access to infected devices.

Beijing has distanced itself from the accusations and emphasized that it rejects all forms of hacking. The FBI has not commented on the situation.

(reuters, pir)