'Advance' cyber attack hits Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH - Saudi Arabian security officials said on Monday that they had detected a fresh attempt of an "advanced" cyber attack targeting the government computers, reported Arab News.

The Saudi government’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) saw the attack as part of a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign against five Gulf states and some countries in other regions.

A statement by NCSC said the Kingdom had been targeted by hackers bearing the technical hallmarks of an attack group dubbed “MuddyWater” by US cyber firm Palo Alto Networks.

The center did not name the government departments, which were targeted in the recent attack in which "Powershell" malware was used.

“The NCSC has detected a new Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) that is targeting Saudi Arabia,” the agency said, adding the hackers wanted to reached the Kingdom's system using email phishing methods. APT is a cyber jargon typically used to define state-backed espionage.

In the past, the country has suffered frequent cyber attacks, including the “Shamoon” virus, which infiltrated the computers belonging to government ministries and energy firms, including Saudi Aramco.

US intelligence officials suspected that Iran had a role to play in the attack.