Exclusive: Western intelligence agencies hacked 'Russia's Google' Yandex in late 2018 to spy on user accounts, sources say
) in late 2018 deploying a rare type of malware in an attempt to spy on user accounts, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Western cyberattacks against Russia are seldom acknowledged or spoken about in public. It could not be determined which of the five countries was behind the attack on Yandex, said sources in Russia and elsewhere, three of whom had direct knowledge of the hack. The breach took place between October and November 2018.
The sources who described the attack to Reuters said the hackers appeared to be searching for technical information that could explain how Yandex authenticates user accounts. Such information could help a spy agency impersonate a Yandex user and access their private messages. Reports by The Intercept, in partnership with a Dutch and Belgian newspaper, tied an earlier version of Regin to a hack at Belgian telecom firm Belgacom in 2013 and said British spy agency Government Communications Headquarters and the NSA were responsible. At the time GCHQ declined to comment and the NSA denied involvement.Security experts say attributing cyberattacks can be difficult because of obfuscation methods used by hackers.
U.S. cybersecurity firm Symantec said it had also recently discovered a new version of Regin. Symantec declined to discuss where this sample was discovered, citing client confidentiality.
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