Security experts discovered a highly sophisticated computer virus in Iran and the Middle East believed to have been launched five years ago to be used in spying activities cyberspace.
Kaspersky Lab research shows that the virus attacks result in data loss occurs in Iran. [AFP: Behrouz Mehri, file photo]

Russian software maker, Kaspersky Lab, claimed to find the virus, which was named ‘Flame’.

Kaspersky said the evidence showed that the virus was created by the countries responsible mengkomisi Stuxnet worm, a virus that attacked Iran’s nuclear program in 2010.

Kaspersky researchers said they could not confirm if the Flame on a special mission as Stuxnet, and declined to speculate on who is making the virus.

Iran has accused the United States and Israel as the parties behind the launch of the Stuxnet virus.

Cyber ​​security experts say the discovery is fresh evidence that some countries have used computer codes are quite dangerous as a weapon for safety over the years.

“This is just one of the countless campaigns that happens all the time, but was never known to the public,” said cyber security expert Alexander Klimburg of the Australian Institute for Foreign Interests.

Agency cyber security in Iran issued a statement on its website, the Flame has characteristics similar to Stuxnet, a computer virus that attacked Iran’s nuclear program in 2010 and is the first virus to be used as a cyber weapon known to the public.

Iranian authorities also said the Flame could be responsible for some cyber attacks that occurred in Tehran, which resulted in the loss of large amounts of data from the computer system of Iran.

Kaspersky Lab discovered Flame after the UN telecommunications agency asking for data analysis software is dangerous in the Middle East after Iran reported a virus that deletes data.