Russian hackers used a Microsoft bug to spy on Ukraine and NATO

A group of Russian hackers used a previously undisclosed Microsoft bug to spy on the Ukrainian government and NATO officials, security researchers said. The hackers used spear-phishing emails with malicious attachments, such as PowerPoint files, to target various victims across Europe and at least one in the United States, according to a report by iSight Partners published on Tuesday.

Russian hackers used a bug in Microsoft Windows to spy on several Western governments, NATO and the Ukrainian government, according to a report released Tuesday by iSight Partners, a computer security firm in Dallas. The targets also included European energy and telecommunications companies and an undisclosed academic organization in the United States, the cybersecurity report said. While it is unclear what type of information may have been retrieved, iSight said that the targets of the attacks were often linked to the continuing standoff in Ukraine between Russia and the West.