‘Flame’ spyware infiltrating Iranian computers

( Wired http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/tech/web/iran-spyware-flame/www.wired.com )  – A massive, highly sophisticated piece of malware has been newly found infecting systems in Iran and elsewhere and is believed to be part of a well-coordinated, ongoing, state-run cyber-espionage operation.

The malware, discovered by Russia-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, is an espionage toolkit that has been infecting targeted systems in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the West Bank and other places in the Middle East and North Africa for at least two years.

Dubbed “Flame” by Kaspersky, the malicious code dwarfs Stuxnet – the groundbreaking infrastructure-sabotaging malware http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/how-digital-detectives-deciphered-stuxnet/all/1?utm_source=Contextly&utm_medium=RelatedLinks&utm_campaign=Previous  that is believed to have wreaked havoc on Iran's nuclear program in 2009 and 2010. Although Flame has both a different purpose and composition than Stuxnet, and appears to have been written by different programmers, its complexity, the geographic scope of its infections and its behavior indicate strongly that a nation-state is behind Flame rather than common cyber-criminals, marking it as yet another tool in the growing arsenal of cyberweaponry.

The researchers say that Flame may be part of a parallel project created by contractors who were hired by the same nation-state team that was behind Stuxnet and its  sister malware, DuQu http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/son-of-stuxnet-in-the-wild/ .

“Stuxnet and Duqu belonged to a single chain of attacks, which raised cyberwar-related concerns worldwide,” said Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, in a statement. “The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war, and it's important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country.”

( Wired http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/tech/web/iran-spyware-flame/www.wired.com )  – A massive, highly sophisticated piece of malware has been newly found infecting systems in Iran and elsewhere and is believed to be part of a well-coordinated, ongoing, state-run cyber-espionage operation.

The malware, discovered by Russia-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, is an espionage toolkit that has been infecting targeted systems in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the West Bank and other places in the Middle East and North Africa for at least two years.

Dubbed “Flame” by Kaspersky, the malicious code dwarfs Stuxnet – the groundbreaking infrastructure-sabotaging malware http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/how-digital-detectives-deciphered-stuxnet/all/1?utm_source=Contextly&utm_medium=RelatedLinks&utm_campaign=Previous  that is believed to have wreaked havoc on Iran's nuclear program in 2009 and 2010. Although Flame has both a different purpose and composition than Stuxnet, and appears to have been written by different programmers, its complexity, the geographic scope of its infections and its behavior indicate strongly that a nation-state is behind Flame rather than common cyber-criminals, marking it as yet another tool in the growing arsenal of cyberweaponry.

The researchers say that Flame may be part of a parallel project created by contractors who were hired by the same nation-state team that was behind Stuxnet and its  sister malware, DuQu http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/son-of-stuxnet-in-the-wild/ .

“Stuxnet and Duqu belonged to a single chain of attacks, which raised cyberwar-related concerns worldwide,” said Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, in a statement. “The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war, and it's important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country.”

Source: CNN