State Sponsored Malware Sucks

The good folks over at Kaspersky Lab have just found another malware strain that is likely produced and paid for by the governemnt. This nasty bit of code affects MikroTik routers and is called "Slingshot". It spies on PCs through a multi-layered attack that is pretty complex in the exectution. The guys over at Kaspersky call the two-pronged attack a "masterpiece" in a very bad way for the user. Congratulations, your government hates you and wants to render you useless to protect yourself against attacks, both cyber and physical.

The combination of this sophistication with the spying focus led Kaspersky to believe that it's likely the creation of a state agency -- it rivals the Regin malware GCHQ used to spy on Belgian carrier Belgacom. And while text clues hint that English speakers might be responsible, the culprit isn't clear. Just shy of 100 individuals, government outfits and institutions fell prey to Slingshot in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Libya and Turkey.

Source: Engadget