Fanny superworm likely the precursor to Stuxnet

The Stuxnet computer worm that was used to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program was likely preceded by another sophisticated malware program that used some of the same exploits and spread through USB thumb drives to computers isolated from the Internet.

The USB worm is called Fanny and is part of a sophisticated malware toolset used by a cyberespionage group that researchers from Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab have dubbed Equation.

Kaspersky published a detailed report Monday about Equation, which it considers the most advanced group of attackers to date and whose activity spans back to 2001 and possibly even to 1996. Even though the company stopped short of directly linking the group to the U.S. National Security Agency, there are significant details that point to such links.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here