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Cyber experts see US hand in 3 spy, sabotage viruses
Source: Agencies |
September 18, 2012, Tuesday
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RESEARCHERS have found evidence suggesting that the United States may have developed three previously unknown computer viruses for use in espionage operations or cyber warfare.
The findings are likely to bolster a growing view that the US government is using cyber technology more widely than previously believed to further its interests in the Middle East. The US has already been linked to the Stuxnet Trojan that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010 and the sophisticated Flame cyber surveillance tool that was uncovered in May.
Anti-virus software makers Symantec Corp of the US and Kaspersky Lab of Russia disclosed yesterday that they have found evidence that Flame's operators may have also worked with three other viruses that have yet to be discovered.
The two security firms, which conducted their analyses separately, declined to comment on who was behind Flame. But current and former Western national security officials have said that the US played a role in creating Flame. The Washington Post has reported that Israel was also involved.
For now, the two firms know very little about the newly identified viruses, except that one of them is currently deployed in the Middle East. They are not sure what the malicious software was designed to do. "It could be anything," said Costin Raiu, director of Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team.
Kaspersky and Symantec released their findings in reports describing analysis of "command and control" servers used to communicate with and control computers infected with Flame.
Researchers from both firms said the Flame operation was managed using a piece of software named "Newsforyou" that was built by a team of four software developers starting in 2006.
It was designed to look like a common program for managing content on websites, which was likely done in a bid to disguise its real purpose from hosting providers or investigators so that the operation would not be compromised, Kaspersky said.
Newsforyou handled four types of malicious software: Flame and programs code-named SP, SPE and IP, according to both firms. Neither firm has obtained samples of the other three pieces of malware.
Kaspersky Lab said it believes that SP, SPE and IP were espionage or sabotage tools separate from Flame. Symantec said it was not sure if they were simply variations of Flame or completely different pieces of software.
"We know that it is definitely out there. We just can't figure out a way to actually get our hands on it. We are trying," Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur said.
The findings are likely to bolster a growing view that the US government is using cyber technology more widely than previously believed to further its interests in the Middle East. The US has already been linked to the Stuxnet Trojan that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010 and the sophisticated Flame cyber surveillance tool that was uncovered in May.
Anti-virus software makers Symantec Corp of the US and Kaspersky Lab of Russia disclosed yesterday that they have found evidence that Flame's operators may have also worked with three other viruses that have yet to be discovered.
The two security firms, which conducted their analyses separately, declined to comment on who was behind Flame. But current and former Western national security officials have said that the US played a role in creating Flame. The Washington Post has reported that Israel was also involved.
For now, the two firms know very little about the newly identified viruses, except that one of them is currently deployed in the Middle East. They are not sure what the malicious software was designed to do. "It could be anything," said Costin Raiu, director of Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team.
Kaspersky and Symantec released their findings in reports describing analysis of "command and control" servers used to communicate with and control computers infected with Flame.
Researchers from both firms said the Flame operation was managed using a piece of software named "Newsforyou" that was built by a team of four software developers starting in 2006.
It was designed to look like a common program for managing content on websites, which was likely done in a bid to disguise its real purpose from hosting providers or investigators so that the operation would not be compromised, Kaspersky said.
Newsforyou handled four types of malicious software: Flame and programs code-named SP, SPE and IP, according to both firms. Neither firm has obtained samples of the other three pieces of malware.
Kaspersky Lab said it believes that SP, SPE and IP were espionage or sabotage tools separate from Flame. Symantec said it was not sure if they were simply variations of Flame or completely different pieces of software.
"We know that it is definitely out there. We just can't figure out a way to actually get our hands on it. We are trying," Symantec researcher Vikram Thakur said.
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