Beware Of Emails With Monkey Videos

That monkey video in your email inbox might be funny to look at, but it also probably means you're being hacked by Russians.

Researchers have discovered a new hacking group called the "Dukes" that appears to be backed by the Russian government. One of their tactics involves displaying monkey videos to trick victims into downloading malware.

"The Dukes are a well-resourced, highly dedicated and organized cyberespionage group that we believe has been working for the Russian Federation since at least 2008 to collect intelligence in support of foreign and security policy decision-making," the Finnish-based cybersecurity firm F-Secure reported last week.

The group was first identified hacking Chechen targets in 2008 and has since added targets such as Ukraine, Austria, the U.S., NATO, and even Russian drug dealers. F-Secure said the group generally works inside Moscow's standard business hours, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and initiates attacks by sending phishing e-mails to its victims.

Unlike other sophisticated phishing attacks that typically use personalized e-mails that contain information relevant to their victims, F-Secure reported, many of the e-mails sent by the Dukes were made to look like spam.

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