The new threat called "Fireball" is designed to hijack browsers to change the default search engine and track their web traffic on behalf of Beijing-based digital marketing firm called Rafotech, the malware also has the ability to download new malicious files.

Security firm Check Point estimated that one in five corporate networks globally have at least one infection.

While organizations around the globe are still struggling to recover from the massive “WannaCry” malware attack, security firm Check Point has warned of a new outbreak that has already grabbed around 250 million computers worldwide with India among the worst-hit countries.

WIRED.com reported, on behalf of Beijing-based digital marketing firm called Rafotech that a new threat called “Fireball” is designed to hijack browsers to change the default search engine and track their web traffic. In research, the firm has found that the malware also has the ability to remotely run any code on the victim’s machine or download new malicious files.

Maya Horowitz, head of Check Point research team, told that, “A quarter-billion computers could very easily become victims of real malware. It has a property to install a backdoor into all these computers that can be very, very easily exploited in the hands of the Chinese people behind this campaign.”

Based on analysis of its own network of clients, Check Point estimated that one in five corporate networks globally have at least one infection. “But those around 5.5 million PCs are in the US which are only a fraction of those victims. Far worse hit are countries like India and Brazil, with close to 25 million infected machines each,” the firm said.

The latest threat provides its administrators or releasers to turn their unwilling ad-revenue generation audience into a botnet, or to harvest credentials and other private data enmasse. Horowitz said that the intentions of the developers are not only to monetize on advertisements and it looks like they want to have the opportunity to take it to the next level.

Read More At: Fireball: This Chinese malware has infected 250 mn PCs, India ‘worst hit’