"Flame" Spy Virus May Be of U.S./Israeli Origin

Hevva

Shipwrecked, comatose, newsie
Aug 2, 2011
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"Flame" Spy Virus May Be of U.S./Israeli Origin



Government sources say the spy-virus is part of an anti-Iranian cyberwarfare attempt.

When the raft of similarities [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117655-Flame-Virus-Freaking-Out-Cybersecurity-Personnel-Worldwide] between Flame and Stuxnet, a different spy-virus known to be of American origin. Now, in a new twist, the finger of blame has been squarely pointed at the U.S. and Israel by anonymous "Western officials with knowledge of the effort."

Speaking to the Washington Post, these ghostly "officials" claim that Flame was designed and deployed as part of an attempt to slow down Iran's nuclear development program (as reported previously, Iranian security officials say they found a way to detect and neutralize [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18253331] Flame back in May). According to the officials, its primary function was to map and monitor Iranian computer systems in preparation for a "cyberwarfare campaign."

"This is about preparing the battlefield for another type of covert action," said a "former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official" who apparently spoke to the Washington Post. "Cyber-collection against the Iranian program is way further down the road than this," they added.

According to another of the anonymous officials, Flame is "proportionate to the problem that's trying to be resolved." Flame, which possessed the power to masquerade as a Windows Update packet and record Skype calls, is being slowly weakened as researchers dig around and learn its methods. However, according to the same apparent official, a drop in the effectiveness of Flame "doesn't mean that other tools aren't in play or performing effectively."

When asked about the allegations, neither the U.S. nor the Israeli administration responded.

The last time he spoke about the virus, Alexander Gostev, chief security expert at Kaspersky Lab, said that "it will take us 10 years to fully understand [Flame]." With that in mind, it's hard not to wonder what other secrets are waiting to be dragged out from within the malware's complex innards. It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone, really, if the claims laid out by the Washington Post's sources turn out to be true; the history of animosity between Iran, the U.S. and Israel is well-documented, with quiet acts of warfare having cropped up amidst the nations' violent rhetoric over the years. While the rest of this "cyberwarfare campaign" remains hidden from view, expect to hear more about this topic as the world wakes up to the reality of electronic warfare.


Source: The Washington Post [http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-israel-developed-computer-virus-to-slow-iranian-nuclear-efforts-officials-say/2012/06/19/gJQA6xBPoV_print.html]







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Jan 27, 2011
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....I doubt that these anonymous officials are actually "officials". If they WERE involved WHY ARE THEY ADMITTING IT? If you're caught with this kind of BS, you typically try to deflect the blame so you can continue to spy on people.

So yeah, I find that a little fishy.
 

McMullen

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Mar 9, 2010
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Pandora's got a warehouse full of boxes, and the US and Israel are hopping and skipping about, opening them up, aren't they?

Dear US and Israeli Governments: Please do be careful not to expose so many security vulnerabilities and invent so many attack techniques that you do a better job of arming cybercriminals than disarming Iran.
 

IamLEAM1983

Neloth's got swag.
Aug 22, 2011
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I just love how every virus or hacking-related news post comes with that "Hackers" still. This is one of the least convincing depictions of hackers ever conceived in popular culture. The script gets points for name-dropping Unix and some bare-bones security measures and then-common tweaks, but that's it.

On the other end, I have to admit that watching government-mandated math wizards and code wranglers punch keyboards all day long wouldn't make for much of a rousing epic.
 

Mumorpuger

This is a...!
Apr 8, 2009
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IamLEAM1983 said:
I just love how every virus or hacking-related news post comes with that "Hackers" still. This is one of the least convincing depictions of hackers ever conceived in popular culture. The script gets points for name-dropping Unix and some bare-bones security measures and then-common tweaks, but that's it.

On the other end, I have to admit that watching government-mandated math wizards and code wranglers punch keyboards all day long wouldn't make for much of a rousing epic.
HACK THE PLANET!!!

;)
 

Formica Archonis

Anonymous Source
Nov 13, 2009
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Well, there goes the moral high ground about bitching about China's prodding of US sites.



McMullen said:
Dear US and Israeli Governments: Please do be careful not to expose so many security vulnerabilities and invent so many attack techniques that you do a better job of arming cybercriminals than disarming Iran.
The hell of it, as someone said on Slashdot, is that national cybersecurity and international cyberwarfare are mutually exclusive goals. Since everyone uses the same small collection of operating systems and hardware platforms, a country that tracks down security holes can either:
1) Make everyone, including places like Iran, more secure by getting them fixed.
2) Hoard that info and use them as zero-days against other countries, risking someone else finding the hole in the meantime and using it against them or against civilians.

You can't do both. The US government is effectively stating that they put their offensive capabilities over the security of their people.
 

Ewyx

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Dec 3, 2008
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576355623135782718.html

Grats US on going into another war.
 

Zorg Machine

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Jul 28, 2008
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Where's a "you don't say" meme when you need one?

Seriously though, the virus primarily targeting Iran might have been designed by the two countries that are the most outspoken against Iran? This is as much of a conspiracy as saying that maybe the one who sent the explosive present to the black spy might have been the white spy. If someone exchanges death threats with someone else on a regular basis, it's pretty obvious who was responsible for trying to kill the other one.
 

Weaver

Overcaffeinated
Apr 28, 2008
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lol America. "China is hacking us! They're evil! They're too sophisticated!"
Then they turn around and produce the two most advanced viruses in the world and the first cases of genuine cyber espionage software.

It's like hypocrisy doesn't exist in their vocabulary.
 

llafnwod

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Nov 9, 2007
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AC10 said:
lol America. "China is hacking us! They're evil! They're too sophisticated!"
Then they turn around and produce the two most advanced viruses in the world and the first cases of genuine cyber espionage software.

It's like hypocrisy doesn't exist in their vocabulary.
Presumably if I shot someone, the word "gun" would not be in my vocabulary?
 

Scars Unseen

^ ^ v v < > < > B A
May 7, 2009
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AC10 said:
lol America. "China is hacking us! They're evil! They're too sophisticated!"
Then they turn around and produce the two most advanced viruses in the world and the first cases of genuine cyber espionage software.

It's like hypocrisy doesn't exist in their vocabulary.
*shrug* This is nothing new, and certainly not unique to the US of A. Countries have been slaughtering their neighbors in the name of home defense for ages, and there's always some predictable rhetoric to make your side seem like the right one. "Those [insert target nation here] bastards are an affront to god! They are absolute monsters, and none of your families will be safe until we've driven them from [our/their] land! Now let's go slaughter those heathens!"

Hell, if anything, this is a refreshingly civilized way of being ignorant, intolerant asses like we always are.
 

Rainboq

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2009
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Darkmantle said:
So.....

can we say that the US

*shades*

started the flame war?
We didn't start the flame war!

Peeps were hatin' on 'for we left a comment~

OT: You don't say? Not even mildly surprised.