Spy Tool in Belgian Hack Case Uncovered - The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal, By Danny Yadron

A document leaked last year by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden showed British spies boasting they hacked into Belgium’s main telecommunications provider to possibly eavesdrop on users.

Now security researchers appear to have found the extremely sophisticated spy tool GCHQ, Britain’s version of the NSA, used in that operation, codenamed “Operation Socialist.” They linked the same tool to intrusions in Germany, Ireland, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia over the past decade. The software’s code was compiled during British working hours, includes a cricket reference and repeatedly mentions the English-language expletive for excrement.

Symantec Corp. said it is likely that “a Western intelligence agency” is responsible for the malware, which it compared to Stuxnet, a computer worm the U.S. and Israel used to damage one of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Researchers from Symantec and Russia-based Kaspersky Lab ZAO traded notes over the weekend about the hacking tool called, “Regin,” which they’ve been studying for years. Kaspersky said it went public with its research because journalists were asking questions about Regin. Read more.