Nation-backed Malware Targets Diplomats’ iPhones, Androids, and PCs - Ars Technica

Ars Technica, by Dan Goodin

Researchers have uncovered yet another international espionage campaign that's so sophisticated and comprehensive that it could only have been developed with the backing of a well resourced country.

Inception, as the malware is dubbed in a report published Tuesday by Blue Coat Labs, targets devices running Windows, Android, BlackBerry, and iOS, and uses free accounts on Swedish cloud service Cloudme to collect pilfered data. Malware infecting Android handsets records incoming and outgoing phone calls to MP4 sound files that are periodically uploaded to the attackers. The researchers also uncovered evidence of an MMS phishing campaign designed to work on at least 60 mobile networks in multiple countries in an attempt to infect targeted individuals.

"There clearly is a well-resourced and very professional organization behind Inception, with precise targets and intentions that could be widespread and harmful," the Blue Coat report stated. "The complex attack framework shows signs of automation and seasoned programming, and the number of layers used to protect the payload of the attack and to obfuscate the identity of the attackers is extremely advanced, if not paranoid."

Red October Surfaces

With more than 1,000 separate components, attack seals the age of super malware.

A separate report published Wednesday by researchers from Russia-based Kaspersky Lab has dubbed the espionage campaign Cloud Atlas. They say it's almost certainly an update of the Red October malware platform that previously infected hundreds of diplomatic, governmental, and scientific research organizations around the world. One of the most sophisticated so-called advanced persistent threats (APTs) ever discovered, Red October seemed to vanish once Kaspersky Lab researchers brought it to light. Wednesday's report said the Inception/Cloud Atlas platform appeared to be a reinvented version of Red October that was created after it went into hibernation. Bluecoat researchers also acknowledged ties to Red October. Read more.