GOVERNMENTS BEWARE

Chinese-speaking hackers recently targeted the top tiers of the Afghan government, along with the governments of other nearby nations, research published Thursday found.

According to findings from cybersecurity group Check Point Research, a hacking group known as “IndigoZebra” is involved in an ongoing espionage effort against the Afghan government through the use of malicious phishing emails.

Some of the emails masqueraded as coming from the Office of the President of Afghanistan, and targeted the Afghan National Security Council (NSC). Emails urged the targeted employee to review an attachment regarding details of a NSC press conference.

The Afghan government was not the only one in the region targeted by the same group. Check Point found evidence of ongoing targeting of the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Check Point’s investigation into these efforts is ongoing.