A sophisticated piece of malware believed to have been created by a government to obtain confidential information has been detected.
The bug, known as Regin, is believed to have been created in 2008 to spy on individuals, businesses and rival government organisations, according to computer security company Symantec.
Once the bug has breached a computer, it can gain control of the mouse pointer, recover deleted files and make copies of passwords.
Almost half of the attacks targeted individuals and small businesses, alongside telecoms companies in what appears to be an attempt to gain access to calls routed through their infrastructure.
Regin victims may have been tricked into using fake versions of well-known websites, resulting in the installation of the bug. The low-key nature of the bug means it could be used in espionage campaigns lasting several years, Symantec said in a blog post.
The news comes in the wake of the Information Commissioner calling for a website live-streaming scenes from 584 UK homes and businesses via internet-connected security cameras and webcams to be taken down.
A hacker gained control of the cameras through their remote log-in function, an easy function to abuse should the owner choose to keep using the default password the device was shipped with.
The anonymous creator of the Russian site told the Telegraph the hack was enabled by "laziness and IT ignorance" on the part of the public.
more
Sophisticated malware bug Regin detected - Telegraph
The bug, known as Regin, is believed to have been created in 2008 to spy on individuals, businesses and rival government organisations, according to computer security company Symantec.
Once the bug has breached a computer, it can gain control of the mouse pointer, recover deleted files and make copies of passwords.
Almost half of the attacks targeted individuals and small businesses, alongside telecoms companies in what appears to be an attempt to gain access to calls routed through their infrastructure.
Regin victims may have been tricked into using fake versions of well-known websites, resulting in the installation of the bug. The low-key nature of the bug means it could be used in espionage campaigns lasting several years, Symantec said in a blog post.
The news comes in the wake of the Information Commissioner calling for a website live-streaming scenes from 584 UK homes and businesses via internet-connected security cameras and webcams to be taken down.
A hacker gained control of the cameras through their remote log-in function, an easy function to abuse should the owner choose to keep using the default password the device was shipped with.
The anonymous creator of the Russian site told the Telegraph the hack was enabled by "laziness and IT ignorance" on the part of the public.
more
Sophisticated malware bug Regin detected - Telegraph
