Syrian Computer Virus

The article I chose to read was titled, “Computer spyware is newest weapon in Syrian conflict.” It was published in CNN and was written on February 17, 2012 by Ben Brumfield. For a direct link to the article please follow this url: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/304850. The article is about how the supporters of the regime have deployed these new computer viruses to spy on opposition activists. This computer virus works by stealing information from a computer and sending it directly to a government server.

The way they work more specifically is that those who support the government impersonate members of the opposition and send them Trojan horses, and convince them to open the files. Once opened, many of these spying viruses are released into their computers, and a lot of information is sent back out to the government servers. There are two different forms of the virus. One is a simple malware. It is small, has one function, and is relatively easy to find. It has been dubbed by experts as the “backdoor.breut”. The second kind is a lot worse. It seems to have several parts, and it is extremely difficult to find. Many other activists tell of how they were detained and forced to give up their passwords by the government officials and authorities. One person, who prefers to be known as “Susan”, was contacted via Skype with who she thought was someone else. During this conversation, this man sent her a file which he told her to open so they could be sure it was really themselves they were talking to. The file downloaded and then after she pressed open, nothing happened. She had just been passed the virus, but it was unknown to her at the time. This is because the way it works disallows her to see it, but once examined by a member of IT, it was obvious what had happened.

To most, since nothing happens, the link seems harmless and broken. But the danger is soon known once your e-mails and your Facebook is gone. The Trojan horse had followed and copied her key strokes, taken screen shots, gone through her folders, and it hid the IP address that had the information sent to it. The simpler virus does not hide the IP address it sends the information too. Computer engineers warn to be wary of what you are opening, and to download some kind of anti-virus to protect against it.