China-Linked Malware Spotted Infecting USB Drives to Spread Attack

Malware linked to Chinese hacking group Mustang Panda was inadvertently spread from Asia to Europe via a USB thumb drive belonging to an employee of a European health institution. Cybersecurity firm Check Point, which investigated the malware infection, found the virus used social engineering to hide all files in the drive, replacing them with an executable appearing to be antivirus software. When clicked, the programme simultaneously infected the computer and revealed the ‘hidden’ files.