Dubbed as the most sophisticated computer software ever, Symantec discovers new computer spying bug.
Top computer security firm Symantec has discovered a computer spying bug that has been monitoring computers for a long time now. According to Symantec, the malicious software was produced by some government agency to track the activities of certain people or organizations and it has been around for around 6 years already. The company named by the bug Regin.
According to experts, countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Ireland have been worst hit by the bug. It is the sophistication of the software that makes experts believe that the bug was created by a country for cyber espionage. The software, once installed on a system, can extensively collect data from the victim’s computer like stealing passwords, capturing screenshots and recovering deleted files.
The targets of the software range from businesses to government organizations and private individuals from all around the world. Researchers who found the software claim that the people behind Regin worked very hard to build it and have done extremely well to cover their tracks. In a statement, Symantec said, “It looks like it comes from a Western organisation. It’s the level of skill and expertise, the length of time over which it was developed.”
The company is comparing this bug to the Stuxnet, a worm that was created by Israel and US to target Iran’s nuclear program. However, that one was made with the intention of inflicting damage and this one is more to do with collecting information.
