Hackers posed as Egyptian oil contractor in apparent spy campaign ahead of OPEC meeting

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.cyberscoop.com/agent-tesla-oil-company-opec-phishing/

By Jeff Stone
CYBERSCOOP
April 21, 2020

Hackers are trying to infect organizations throughout the world with a popular 
strain of malware by sending emails that appear to be from an Egyptian oil 
company.

In research published Tuesday, Romanian antivirus company BitDefender noted a 
surge in attempted phishing attacks that try to trick users into downloading 
malware by masquerading as Enppi, an oil company owned by the Egyptian 
government. The malware, known as Agent Tesla, is a spyware tool which enables 
hackers to monitor keystrokes, steal data about file downloads and collect 
username and password credentials from internet browsers, among other 
capabilities.

The number of attacks spiked in the weeks before the world’s top oil producers 
debated whether to cut output during a meeting between the OPEC+ alliance and 
the Group of 20 nations, which suggests interest in specific countries’ 
strategies around an international standoff that’s had ramifications for the 
global economy. BitDefender researchers said hackers used the tool against 
energy organizations in the U.S., Malaysia, Iran, South Africa, Oman, Turkey 
and elsewhere.

The company did not speculate on who may have been behind the espionage effort.

[...]

--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
https://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
https://twitter.com/infosecnews_