From Jim Finkle, Reuters:  Hackers targeted dozens of computer systems at government agencies across Europe through a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc’s  software, security researchers said on Wednesday, while NATO said it too had been attacked.

The alliance said its systems had not been compromised, although it was sharing the details of the attack with NATO member states and remained vigilant. Security experts say governments and organizations such as NATO are attacked on a daily basis – although the sophistication varies wildly. . . .

The researchers suspect MiniDuke was designed for espionage, but were still trying to figure out the attack’s ultimate goal.

"This is a unique, fresh and very different type of attack," said Kurt Baumgartner, a senior security researcher with Kaspersky Lab. "The technical indicators show this is a new type of threat actor that hasn’t been reported on before. . . ."

A NATO official in Brussels had earlier said the alliance was not directly hit, but he said later that he had been incorrect. He gave no further details.  (photo: Symantec)