A new hacking group called "Hexane" is targeting telecommunications and oil and Gas Companies across Africa and the Middle East. Industrial security company Dragos said that the group's activity has ramped up in recent months amid heightened tensions in the region since the group first emerged a year ago. TechCrunch reports: Dragos said Hexane, the latest in a list of nine hacking groups it tracks, was observed targeting telecoms companies, potentially as a "stepping stone" to gain access to the networks of oil and gas companies. Dragos would not go into specifics about the threat group but hinted that it targets and compromises "devices, firmware, or telecommunications networks" in the supply chain, which could be used to breach a victim's Network from within. The researchers have "moderate confidence" that Hexane does not yet have an attack capability to disrupt industrial control networks critical to the continued operations of power plants, energy suppliers and other critical infrastructure, but the group may use its leverage on telecommunications networks as a "precursor" to an attack on industrial control networks. Dragos said Hexane is expected to increase targeting oil and gas companies in the region.

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