Mata Malware Targeted East European Energy, Defense Sectors

Hackers used an advanced version of the malware Mata to target more than a dozen oil, gas and defense companies in Eastern Europe. Although Kaspersky has previously associated this malware with North Korea’s Lazarus Group, the security firm did not attribute these recent attacks to them. The hackers bypassed endpoint detection tools, expanded control over the entire corporate network, and used sophisticated techniques resembling those of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Quite sophisticated techniques were used to spear-phish, exploit system vulnerabilities and deliver malware payloads.