Malware 'The Flame'

PETALING JAYA (June 7, 2012): The Flame malware which has espionage tools has infected at least one local computer.
CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Husin Jazri said today the malware infection was reported by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab three days ago.
“We are waiting for the details to be verified. It could be a researcher playing with the malware,” he told a news conference at the CyberSecurity office.
However, he said that the infection was not serious. “Do not be alarmed by this. Flame has a very specific purpose and target unlike other malware,” he said.
Flame is capable of performing cyber spying on almost any computer worldwide, and works by collecting basic information about the system and local network.
It can record audio using system-connected microphones, make screenshots, grab textual windows’ content and scan for locally available Bluetooth and wireless access devices.
Husin said CyberSecurity is monitoring the malware.
“If the situation becomes serious or if there is a specific threat concern we will warn whoever is targeted.”
He said Malaysia faces information technology threats, mainly of security and privacy issues. “The biggest concern is fraud. The media with which to engage in fraud are widely available. There are Facebook, Twitter and e-commerce transactions.”
Earlier, Husin launched the Internet Security Professionals Association of Malaysia (ISPA), of which he is president.
He said the association aims to provide an avenue for information technology (IT) security practitioners to exchange ideas and views.
He said ISPA has several initiatives in the pipeline to spur the growth of the local IT security industry, such as setting up of an accreditation and examination panel.
“We are aiming for international standards. We will study what is used by the key players. We will access local needs and how we can boost our standards.” He said ISPA aimed to achieve this within two years.