The Flame Virus: Spyware on an Unprecedented Scale
Security researchers recently discovered one of the most complex instances of computer malware on record. Flame, which also goes by the names SkyWiper and Viper, has infected hundreds of computers across the Middle East and Europe. What does it do? Where did it come from? Who unleashed it?
What makes Flame so unusual is its size. It's much larger than some of the largest malware instances that researchers have found. For instance, the infamous Stuxnet virus that was targeted at Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities several years ago was 500 kilobytes, according to Wired.
“Flame is a sizable beast," said Graham Cluley of Sophos Security, a publisher of digital security software. "With all its components in place, it's approximately 20MB. And this is one of the reasons why people have bandied phrases around like 'biggest' and 'most sophisticated.' Reverse engineering 20MB of code is a sizable piece of work."
