Hackers employed by one of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing countries have accessed the user accounts of Russian internet search company Yandex using the Regin malware. The attackers are reported to have accessed accounts between October and November 2018 to discover how Yandex authorised accounts, information which could help attackers hijack a user’s account. According to Kaspersky Lab, the hackers used an exploit known as EternalBlue that was discovered last year but has only recently been made public. Sources said the Yandex hack was for espionage purposes only, rather than an attack to disrupt and steal data. Regin was named as a tool by the Five Eyes countries five years ago by Edward Snowden.
Hackers employed by one of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing countries have accessed the user accounts of Russian internet search company Yandex using the Regin malware. The attackers are reported to have accessed accounts between October and November 2018 to discover how Yandex authorised accounts, information which could help attackers hijack a user’s account. Yandex said it had identified and neutralised the attack. Sources said the Yandex hack was for espionage purposes only, rather than an attack to disrupt and steal data. Regin was named as a tool by the Five Eyes countries five years ago by Edward Snowden.