Massive virus that spies on governments 'was developed by a nation state'

Anti-virus software maker Symantec Corp claims that a piece of malware was developed by a nation state and has been snooping since 2008.

18:21 24 November 2014

In a report released by anti-virus software maker Symantec Corp, it has been claimed that a piece of malicious software has been used to spy on private companies, governments, research institutes and individuals in 10 countries since 2008. It added that the malware was ‘developed by a nation state’.

The malware is called Regin or Backdoor and has been described as an advanced software application that uses several stealth features with a design that "makes it highly suited for persistent, long-term surveillance operations against targets.”

Symantec described the malware as having five stages, each "hidden and encrypted, with the exception of the first stage." It said "each individual stage provides little information on the complete package. Only by acquiring all five stages is it possible to analyze and understand the threat."

Regin also uses a modular approach that allows it to load custom features tailored to targets. This is the same method used in other malware such as Weevil and Flamer. Some of its features, the company added, were also similar to Duqu malware and to a computer worm called Stuxnet.