Fifteen countries KO'd in malware one-two punch

Someone suspected to be backed by a nation state is attacking embassies of former soviet states with a malware tool that has infiltrated networks across more than 15 countries. Hacked embassies of unnamed former soviet states include those located in: France; Belgium; Ukraine; China; Jordan; Greece; Kazakhstan; Armenia; Poland …

[MrT]

UTC +4...

... also known as Mauritius Time, Moscow Time or Seychelles Time...

...

...

I wonder what anyone in the Indian Ocean area could possibly have against the former Soviet states...?

[I dont believe it]

Re: UTC +4...

Or more likely Georgia, no love lost there.

http://www.worldtimezone.com/utc/utc+0400.html

ARMENIA (Yerevan)

AZERBAIJAN (Baku dst)

GEORGIA (Tbilisi)

MAURITIUS (Port Louis)

OMAN (Muscat)

REUNION (Saint-Denis)

RUSSIA (ZONE 2- Moscow, St. Petersburg) (moved from time zone UTC+3). Russia set clocks forward 1 hour (no seasonal clock change from 27.03.2011)

RUSSIA (ZONE 3-Samara, Izhevsk) (moved back from time zone UTC+3)

SEYCHELLES (Mahe- Victoria)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Abu Dhabi, Dubai)

[Anders Halling]

UTC +4

Let's see... RUSSIA, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

Those sneaky sneaky Armenians.

[Aitor 1]

Re: UTC +4

I would say it came from Georgia.. but not the Georgian government.

[I dont believe it]

More likley Georgia IMHO

Or More likely Georgia, No love lost between Tibilisi and Moscow

ARMENIA (Yerevan)

AZERBAIJAN (Baku dst)

GEORGIA (Tbilisi)

MAURITIUS (Port Louis)

OMAN (Muscat)

REUNION (Saint-Denis)

RUSSIA (ZONE 2- Moscow, St. Petersburg) (moved from time zone UTC+3). Russia set clocks forward 1 hour (no seasonal clock change from 27.03.2011)

RUSSIA (ZONE 3-Samara, Izhevsk) (moved back from time zone UTC+3)

SEYCHELLES (Mahe- Victoria)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Abu Dhabi, Dubai)

[Elmer Phud]

Re: More likley Georgia IMHO

Did you really need to shout twice?

[Mark 85]

Article says "former Soviet States" were the target...

Methinks it's likely it's Moscow, given the way things are being stirred up over there.. Personally, though, I like the way Abu Dabai rolls off the tongue... but I kinda' doubt they're the player.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Putin's unground lair?

...but actually the Feral Underground Cats Commune Internet Hacking Association (FUCCIHA)

Talking of which, is Brennan still in the job? Does he have to personally molest Obama's cat on the White House lawn in front of cameras for something to happen??

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Putin's unground lair?

"Talking of which, is Brennan still in the job? Does he have to personally molest Obama's cat on the White House lawn in front of cameras for something to happen??"

Yes, and no respectively. The man is clearly asbestos regardless of what he does, presumably because Yank politicians fall into two overlapping sets: Those who think he's doing a fine job, and those who have something to hide and think Brennan's people have a big list with all the details.

[Chris G]

Remote Island lair

Just for interest try Googling MH370 and Diego Garcia.DG is a naval base with 3000 people there and possibly a secret prison. Quite likely to be the real Darma initiative.

[Anonymous Coward]

The antivirus, they do nothing

"previously known but capable malware"... which is not identified by modern antivirus software? Just asking.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: The antivirus, they do nothing

Modern antivirus software keels over faster than an Iraqi Army facing ISIS

[Shrimpling]

Why assume they are located in GMT + 4

You don't need to be in a timezone for your computer to report being in that timezone.

If I was doing the spying I would purposefully set my timezone to be that of somebody I don't like so that if the target finds out my time zone they would assume it was them and not me.

Its just as likely to be one of the 5 Eyes as it is Russia.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why assume they are located in GMT + 4

Plus I doubt Russia needs to bug former satellite countries embassies; They probably still have direct lines into the governments of the former Soviet republics.

Russia is too obvious, so it must be the CIA operating from Diego Garcia (UTC+6). Unless that's too obvious and it's the Russians trying to discredit the CIA. But if I can think of that, it must be too simple so..oh, I give up.

[amanfromMars 1]

Tick Tock

And coming soon to a westernised regime near you ..... for who is to say it is not a dummy eastern based practice run?

[Anonymous Coward]

I blame the French and illegal immigrants.

(Sorry, I must have overdosed on The Daily Mail).

Because there is ALWAYS one.............

[chris lively]

Nations spend hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, of dollars to secure their networks.

At what point does it make financial sense to code your own operating system and application suite that instead of using consumer grade crap?

None of the current vendors have shown that device and network security is the most important item. For anyone that thinks network security isn't possible: you're delusional because it is. What isn't possible is leaving it up to entities that base decisions on how much it costs them to clean up afterwards.

[Anonymous Coward]

Chris, then you have to ask yourself: "Why hasn't someone already built that better mousetrap OS?" It's not like a massive improvement can't happen simply by tossing a billion dollars and a lot of formalism to build it. And it would save billions, if not trillions if we face a concerted "cyber-attack."

The only answer I can come up with is that it's in someone's or someones' interest to not do that.

[amanfromMars 1]

Roll Up, Roll Up .... for the Knock Out Rematch

Chris, then you have to ask yourself: "Why hasn't someone already built that better mousetrap OS?" It's not like a massive improvement can't happen simply by tossing a billion dollars and a lot of formalism to build it. And it would save billions, if not trillions if we face a concerted "cyber-attack."

The only answer I can come up with is that it's in someone's or someones' interest to not do that. …… Jack of Shadows replying to chris lively

Another answer and probable actuality and likely reality and certain virtual reality, lively chris and Shadowy Jack, is that the requisite secure/secret/surreal intelligence service to human operating systems executive administrations is absent, nor in the present protocols portfolio stock pile or in any current Future IT and Media Man Management of Sublime InterNetworking Things Systems development.

Such an omission and abdication of applied forethought, which be also rich in the benefits of great fortune for delivery because of the inclusion of experienced hindsight which rigourously excludes and prevents any negative and damaging input to output as similarly destructive and harmful content for audiovisual programming and susceptible unit brainwashing, is indeed worth umpteen trillions when it can be easily supplied.

Can El Regers consider and share with us all, to whom and or to what that would be best shared with and delivered to, for there can be many interested state and non-state actors with both the will and the wherewithall out there East and West of walls and North and South of divides, or would it be something completely new and best launched and floated out there to be controlled and commanded by the Present Active Emergence with Current HyperRadioProActive IT Fields to remain the Exclusive Exotic and Expansive Erotic Proprietary Intellectual Property of Relatively Anonymous Virtual Source Development Teams and Alien Forces with concerted cyber attack capabilities against which there is no possible effective dDefence …… real security or digital protection.

Answers please on a Registered thread. It’s practically free, give IT a Virtual Go and Start Something Completely New and Not Indifferent to Perfect Wishes and Immaculate Desires.