Russian hackers use Brexit in phishing email, experts warn

Cybersecurity experts at consulting firm Accenture are warning that Russian hackers are using public interest in Brexit as a lure in their latest phishing emails.

The company's security division issued an advisory Thursday about a Brexit-themed document intended to deliver malware to targets.

Accenture said the Microsoft Word file started circulating the same day this month that the British government agreed on a draft of its agreement to leave the European Union.

The document had Brexit in its file name but contained only garbled text used to trick users into activating a macro command to load malicious content.

Accenture said it appears the cyberattackers were Russian based on software used in previous hacking attempts. It added that they often use news headlines to trick victims.