The Washington Post reports that the US and Israel cooperated to create the Flame malware — a computer espionage worm infecting thousands of systems throughout the Middle East — in order to attack Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The confirmation, from anonymous Western officials, links Flame to the Stuxnet cyberweapon that the US and Israel used to target Iranian nuclear facilities in 2009. The Post reports that the effort involved the NSA, CIA, and Israeli military, and that it was developed at least five years ago under the classified code-name “Olympic Games.”
US and Israel developed Flame malware to attack Iranian nuclear program
The Washington Post reports that the US and Israel cooperated to create the Flame malware — a computer espionage worm infecting thousands of systems throughout the Middle East — in order to attack Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
The Washington Post reports that the US and Israel cooperated to create the Flame malware — a computer espionage worm infecting thousands of systems throughout the Middle East — in order to attack Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
is executive editor who has obsessed over headlines and internet speeds since 2011. He previously worked as an advocate for the National Park System.
The connection to the US and Israel had been previously speculated, as researchers recently discovered a “missing link” of code between Flame and Stuxnet that suggested the malware was developed by the same author. Codenamed “Worm.Win32.Flame,” the malware has been described as “one of the most complex threats ever discovered,” and is believed to have infected thousands of computers, primarily in Iran and Israel.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
