[software] UPDATE 1-French IT monitoring company's software targeted by hackers -cyber agency

[#Hassan.]

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Hackers have spent up to three yearsbreaking into organizations by targeting monitoring softwaremade by the French company Centreon, France's cybersecuritywatchdog said on Monday.

The watchdog, known by its French acronym ANSSI, stoppedshort of identifying the hackers but said they had a similarmodus operandi as the Russian cyberespionage group oftennicknamed "Sandworm."

ANSSI, Centreon, and the Russian embassy in Paris did notimmediately return messages seeking comment.

The targeting of Centreon, a Paris-based company whichspecializes in information technology monitoring, furtherhighlights how attractive such firms are to digital spies.

U.S. cybersecurity officials are still trying to get theirhands around an ambitious espionage campaign that hijacked ITmonitoring software made by the Austin, Texas-based firmSolarWinds. American officials, who have blamed Moscowfor the hacking, have hinted that other firms have also been hitin similar ways.

Earlier this month Reuters reported that suspected Chinesehackers also targeted SolarWinds customers, using a differentand less serious bug to help spread it across their victims'networks.

The initial vector for the campaign of intrusions thattargeted Centreon software was not known, ANSSI said in a40-page report posted on its website. It said it had discoveredintrusions dating back to late 2017 and stretching into 2020.

The watchdog did not identify the names or number of victimsinvolved but said they were mainly IT services firms such asinternet hosting providers.

Centreon's website says it has more than 600 enterpriseclients across the world, including the French Ministry ofJustice.(Reporting by Raphael Satter; editing by Grant McCool andRichard Chang)