Mysterious Malware Performs 'Stealthy Surveillance'

A highly sophisticated piece of malware began quietly spying on governments and businesses in 2008, according to security specialist Symantec, which warns that the complex code was likely the handiwork of a nation state.

In a note released on Sunday, Symantec Security Response described the Regin malware as a “top-tier espionage tool,” which enables “stealthy surveillance.”

Regin is what is known as a backdoor Trojan, which lets an attacker gain access, or send commands to, a compromised computer. Like the mysterious Stuxnetworm which crippled Iran’s nuclear production in 2010, Regin loads onto a targeted computer in stages – it can also be customized to specific targets.

“Its capabilities and the level of resources behind Regin indicate that it is one of the main cyberespionage tools used by a nation state,” explained Symantec. The malware, it added “has been used in systematic data collection or intelligence gathering campaigns.”

While fear of a cyber attack on critical U.S. infrastructure is high at the moment, Regin appears to be a bigger worry for foreign powers. The Russian Federation accounts for 28% of Regin “infections,” according to Symantec, closely followed by Saudi Arabia. Other countries experiencing Regin infections include Mexico, Ireland, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Belgium, Austria and Pakistan.

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