Quote:A cyber espionage group is deploying a new type of trojan malware against telecommunications, information technology, and government organisations.

Dubbed Seedworm, the group has been operating since at least 2017, and although it predominantly looks to infiltrate organisations in the Middle East, organisations based in Europe and North America have also been targets.

The hacking operation -- also known as MuddyWater -- has been highly active in recent months and researchers at Symantec say the espionage campaign has stolen information from more than 130 victims across 30 organisations since September this year. The attacks appear to be focused on stealing passwords, especially for web accounts, as well as internal communications data and other information.

Seedworm's latest campaign was uncovered after researchers discovered evidence of activity on a computer inside the Brazil-based embassy of what Symantec refers to as "an oil-producing nation".