Lies a secret behind it? A security company reported a sophisticated spy software that has been used systematically in ten countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. A target was Internet provider.

A newly discovered spyware has spied over years companies, government agencies and research institutions, particularly in Russia and Saudi Arabia. The program was so expensive that only States that are potential client in question, write the IT security firm Symantec, who had discovered the software. Symantec is the software that is reminiscent in its complexity of programs like Stuxnet and Duqu, the name of Regin. She was said to be active first from 2008 to 2011. Two years later, a new version was then surfaced.

Almost half of the confirmed Regin infections according to the company concerned individuals and small businesses, every fourth infection telecom operators. The attacker would have gotten to the part access to call data. A distribution channel for Regin could have been that target persons were lured to replicas of known sites. However, it is unclear in most cases, as the Trojan had spread.

Regin is trimmed out undetected for a long stay: The software is structured in five stages, only the first stage can ever be discovered. If it is executed, after and decrypted by the other stages and loaded. In itself deliver each stage a few information about the overall package, writes Symantec. Even those who discover the software can be difficult to determine what they ever hires on your own computer.

The functions of Regin are many and varied, the software can do, among other recordings from the screen, steal passwords, monitor traffic and recover deleted files for the attacker. The stolen information is stored encrypted and transmitted. The fact that the Trojan consists of modules, it can be specifically tailored to specific targets. Symantec is convinced that far from all possible functions and versions of the software have been discovered.

Overall, Symantec has discovered in at least ten countries Regin infections. Russia was hardest hit with 28 percent of known cases, it is said, followed by Saudi Arabia with 24 percent. In the next place Ireland and Mexico follow with nine percent. With a share of five percent also India, Afghanistan, Iran, Belgium, Austria and Pakistan are listed.

The security company’ve found so far no direct evidence on the authorship of Regin, says security researcher Candid Wüest. The level of development and the objectives ago came intelligence about the US, Israel or China in question. The creation of software according to estimates by Symantec “months, if not years” lasted.

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