Monday, May 28, 2012

FLAME: ‘ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX THREATS EVER DISCOVERED’: NEW CYBER WEAPON FOUND IN IRAN

A new computer virus that appears to have been deployed five years ago was recently discovered in Iran and cyber security experts suggest it could have been built by the same entities that ordered the 2010 Stuxnet attack, according to Reuters. - The Blaze

The presence of the virus — dubbed “Flame” — was announced by the Russian-based Kaspersky Labs on Monday. Reuters reports the security software firm has not said whether the cyber weapon was deployed with a specific mission like that of the Stuxnet worm, which is suspected to have been launched to help take down Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Comparing Flame to Stuxnet, Reuters reports experts finding the virus has 20 times more code. Compared to most computer viruses that steal financial information, Flame has 100 times more code. Kaspersky Labs found it exploits a vulnerability in Windows, like Stuxnet. BBC reports that this newly discovered virus is being called “one of the most complex threats ever discovered.”