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"As far as the robot thinks, it's still drawing a straight line," Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at Trend Micro, told Forbes. "It's a remote code exploit to change the configuration file, we're not changing the instructions, we’re changing what the robot believes to be true about its environment.

First emerging on the Russian underground marketplace in March 2016, Cerber has been issued in a number of versions with each iteration evolving its structure, techniques and functions. It is now being cited by Trend Micro as the "most prolific family of ransomware in the threat landscape."

Discovered by Trend Micro, FalseGuide's main focus is on infecting and adding as many devices to a centrally-managed botnet. The purpose of this botnet is to show unrequested ads to victims, via popups or other means.

"Despite the best efforts of law enforcement to stem the exponential growth of cybercrime, the truth is that it's an uphill struggle," writes Ed Cabrera, Trend Micro's chief cybersecurity officer. "Transnational cybercriminals these days are well resourced, determined and agile."

A hacking group linked by cybersecurity experts to Russia's military intelligence apparatus has begun taking aim at France's centrist presidential candidate, Emmanuel Macron, the cybersecurity firm Trend Micro said in a report published on Tuesday.