'Flame' spyware infiltrating Iranian computers

'Flame' spyware infiltrating Iranian computers

www.cnn.com

Among Flame's many modules is one that turns on the internal microphone of an infected machine to secretly record conversations that occur over Skype or in the computer's near vicinity; a module that turns Bluetooth-enabled computers into a Bluetooth beacon, which scans for other Bluetooth-enabled devices in the vicinity to siphon names and phone numbers from their contacts folder; and a module that grabs and stores frequent screenshots of activity on the machine, such as instant-messaging and...

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This is interesting news to say the least. Apparently Stuxnet and DuQu were only the first round of International cyber-spying. And the dates being given show that it is indeed happening during the Obama administration, while Stuxnet and DuQu were obviously released during the Bush administration.

What makes me worried is the functionality. It can apparently monitor microphones even though they are muted via software, use bluetooth interfaces to scan for phone information close by, and Lord knows what else. And it is not detected by anti-viral software.

If this is possible on the international scene, how long until things like this start popping up on personal machines?

TheRedneck


www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by TheRedneck

If this is possible on the international scene, how long until things like this start popping up on personal machines?

Maybe a more apt question is, if this is now being admitted to, how far along are they really with this type of software, and what abilities do those not-yet-admitted-to software packages have?

Tie that together with this thread:

Security backdoor found in China-made US military chip

And a whole host of rather unpleasant notions can be pondered.