What You Ought to Know About a New Sophisticated Spyware

Virus and malware are the bane of anyone’s computing life. Apparently, these two are just the tip of an iceberg, so to speak. A highly advanced malware has been discovered that not only infects computers, but snoops around as well. It’s like a sophisticated drone wrapped with Ebola.

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Symantec, a cybersecurity company, has uncovered a spyware that has been snooping around on government organizations, companies and personal computers for the past 6 years. Regin, as the spyware is called, is believed to be developed by a nation state. It is said to be “a complex piece of malware whose structure displays a degree of technical competence rarely seen”. This makes it even scarier, considering the damage it can do.

An infected computer will be a source of passwords, pertinent files and other documents that you thought were kept under lock and key. The software will also take control of a mouse, capture screenshots and mess up with other functions. As of today, Regin is targeting telecom companies in Russia and Arabia. But who’s to say where their reach will end?

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The spyware has been compared to the Stuxnet worm, although it’s more advanced and sophisticated. Developed by the US and Israel government in 2010, Stuxnet was designed to target nuclear program. If creators of Regin have similar plans, they won’t stop at using the spyware only for financial gain.

Spyware is nothing new. It has been around for a long time, collecting personal information or changing a computer’s configuration without the knowledge or consent of the owner. Even then, its effects range from annoying to terrifying. Some can change your browser’s settings, while others will cause a computer to crash. Worse, it is often hard to reconfigure the settings that have been altered. Well, you can just imagine the damage Regin can do to personal computers.