Winners of a cyber security quiz in Taiwan got more than they bargained for when the prizes were given out – they received malware-infected USB thumb drives.

The quiz, which took place in December 2017, was hosted by the Taiwanese Presidential Office and included 250 8GB thumb drives as prizes. 54 contained malware.

Winners realised after inserting the thumb drive into computers and being alerted to the possible risks from antivirus software. An investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau found that the USB drives came from a third-party contractor and contained a strain of malware named XtbSeDuA.exe.

The malware was designed to collect data from infected devices and send information to a web server located ion Poland.

The Bureau has apologised to the Presidential Office and quiz participants.