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'Babar' Malware Attributed To France

sarahnaomi writes: The NSA, GCHQ, and their allies in the Five Eyes are not the only government agencies using malware for surveillance. French intelligence is almost certainly hacking its targets too — and now security researchers believe they have proof. On Wednesday, the researchers will reveal new details about a powerful piece of malware known as "Babar," which is capable of eavesdropping on online conversations held via Skype, MSN and Yahoo messenger, as well as logging keystrokes and monitoring which websites an infected user has visited. The researchers are publishing two separate but complementary reports that analyze samples of the malware, and all but confirm that France's spying agency the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) was responsible for its creation.

6 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. A nice piece of... by Arkh89 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The first ever malware to work only 35 hours a week...

    1. Re:A nice piece of... by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is anyone going to talk about the elephant in the room?

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    2. Re:A nice piece of... by sconeu · · Score: 4, Funny

      The malware also doesn't work at all during August, and will randomly go on strike.

      It also immediately surrenders to the first AV program to find it.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    3. Re:A nice piece of... by greatpatton · · Score: 4, Informative

      Low productivity? Per hour French productivity is 25$, US one is 24.6$. It's clear that French productivity is bad.... US debt is 102% of GDP compare to France 93% (reference FT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28c0...).

  2. Could have been worse by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

    It could have been the Asterix malware. That shit doesn't just spy on you, it beats the crap out of of you - and then has a nice feast to celebrate!

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  3. Re:Isn't slashdot's reaction interesting... by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As an American, I have the right, duty and obligation to complain about the NSA's illegal bullshit because they're (ostensibly) claiming to represent me as a citizen, while acting against my interests as a citizen. France, on the other hand, is a sovereign foreign nation, in which I have no standing to complain.

    The spying is bad no matter who's doing it, but it's the French citizens' job to fix France's spying, not mine, just as it's American citizens' job to fix the USA's spying, not theirs.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz