The nature of the data targeted "aligns with information likely to be of significant interest to signals intelligence operations."

The botnet was active just days after the Exchange Server vulnerabilities were announced.

It's a twist on the Arabic-speaking hacking group's tradecraft.

Three groups targeted seven prominent companies in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States, Microsoft said.

Researchers say they combined government data with their own findings to identify previously undocumented spyware.

With an effective mobile malware kit written, hackers can tweak the code to target different parts of the world.