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New Computer Virus Hits Iran and West Bank

Internet security company Kaspersky Lab announced on Monday that it had uncovered a ‘cyber-espionage worm’ designed to collect and delete sensitive information, primarily in Middle Eastern countries.

Kaspersky called the malware, named “Flame,” the “most sophisticated cyber-weapon yet unleashed.” It said the bug had infected computers in Iran, the West Bank, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The company also said that Flame contained a specific element that was used in the Stuxnet worm and which had not been seen in any other malware since.

On its blog, Kaspersky called Flame a “sophisticated attack toolkit,” adding that it was much more complex than Duqu, the vehicle used to deliver Stuxnet.

The Stuxnet bug, discovered in June 2010, targeted primarily Iranian computers. Iran admitted that the worm damaged centrifuges operating at an uranium enrichment facility at Nantaz.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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