Iran admits ‘flame' virus caused substantial damage - China Steel Billet Casting

Iranian authorities admitted that the malicious software‘Flame' has attacked its computer and systems andinstructed to run an urgent inspection of all cyber systems in thecountry. New York Times said the computers of high-ranking Iranian officialsappear to have been penetrated in what it said may be the mostdestructive cyber-attack on Iran since the notorious Stuxnet virus,an Iranian cyber-defence organisation had confirmed. In a message posted on its Web site, Iran's ComputerEmergency Response Team Coordination Center warned that the viruswas dangerous. An expert at the organisation said that it was potentially moreharmful than the 2010 Stuxnet virus, which destroyed severalcentrifuges used for Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. In contrast to Stuxnet, the newly identified virus is designed notto do damage but to collect information secretly from a widevariety of sources.

‘Flame', which experts say could be as much as fiveyears old, was discovered by Iranian computer experts. Kaspersky Lab, a Russian producer of antivirus software, said in astatement that "the complexity and functionality of the newlydiscovered malicious program exceed those of all other cybermenaces known to date." The virus bears special encryption hallmarks that an Iraniancyber-defence official said have strong similarities to previousIsraeli malware. "Its encryption has a special pattern which you only seecoming from Israel," said Kamran Napelian, an official withIran's Computer Emergency Response Team. "Unfortunately, they are very powerful in the field ofIT". But Iran's telecommunications ministry also claimed that ithad developed software to clean this malware.

Israel avoids comments on such matters, its involvement was hintedat by top officials there. "Anyone who sees the Iranian threat as a significant threat— it's reasonable that he will take various steps,including these, to harm it," said the vice prime ministerand strategic affairs minister, Moshe Yaalon, in a widely quotedinterview with Israel's Army Radio yesterday. Mr. Napelian said that ‘Flame' seemed designed to minedata from personal computers and that it was distributed throughUSB sticks rather than the Internet, meaning that a USB has to beinserted manually into at least one computer in a network. "This virus copies what you enter on your keyboard; itmonitors what you see on your computer screen," Mr.

Napeliansaid. That includes collecting passwords, recording sounds if thecomputer is connected to a microphone, scanning disks for specificfiles and monitoring Skype. "Those controlling the virus can direct it from adistance," he said. "Flame is no ordinary product. This was designed to monitorselected computers." Mr.

Napelian guessed the virus had been active for the past sixmonths and was responsible for a "massive" data loss.Iran says it has developed antivirus software to combat‘Flame', something that international antiviruscompanies have yet to do, since they have just become aware of itsexistence. "One of the most alarming facts is that the‘Flame' cyber-attack campaign is currently in itsactive phase, and its operator is consistently surveiling infectedsystems, collecting information and targeting new systems toaccomplish its unknown goals," Alexander Gostev, chiefsecurity expert at Kaspersky Lab, said on the company's Website.

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