Malware Attack Targets U.S. Government Agencies [VIDEO] (Mashable)

[brightcove video="1389085133001" /] Sykipot, malware believed to originate in China, has been used to target smart cards in the Pentagon and other government agencies. According to security researcher AlienVault, a new variant of Sykipot is targeting the cards government employees use to access secure networks and servers.

[More from Mashable: Apple Toys With 3D iPhone Interface [VIDEO]]

"The attackers use a spear phishing campaign to get their targets to open a PDF attachment which then deposits the Sykipot malware onto their machine (the attackers here took advantage of a zero-day exploit in Adobe)," according to AlienVault.

Check out the video above to learn more.

[More from Mashable: How a Professional Pain Point Led to a Disruptive Business Idea [VIDEO]]

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, rubenhi

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20120113/tc_mashable/malware_attack_targets_us_government_agencies_video

guy fawkes day stevie williams steve williams koch brothers weather phoenix dippin dots triumph the insult comic dog