Ebrahim Norouzi, International Iran Photo Agency / AP Photo
Iran has confirmed a massive cyberattack by a data-collecting virus called Flame, with officials warning that the attack may potentially be more deleterious than the 2010 Stuxnet virus, which destroyed materials used for its nuclear program. Flame, which Iranian cyber experts say has likely been active for the past six months, doesn’t destroy data but rather mines it from a variety of sources—resulting in a data loss. Israel, which has previously been targeted by hackers, hinted at its involvement in the attack. Given the threat of Iran’s nuclear program, “it’s reasonable that [anyone] will take various steps, including these, to harm it,” said Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s vice prime minister and strategic affairs minister, on Tuesday.
