Security experts have warned of a serious new nation-state developed malware threat, dubbed Slingshot.
Kaspersky Labs researchers identified the new malware, which infects an internet router, before stealing data from computers connected to the network.
Researcher say the malware is so sophisticated, it can only have been developed by a nation-state.
In a report on Slingshot, researchers said: “The malware is highly advanced, solving all sorts of problems from a technical perspective and often in a very elegant way, combining older and newer components in a thoroughly thought-through, long-term operation, something to expect from a top-notch well-resourced actor.”
As soon as the router is infected by Slingshot, the malware then loads a number of “huge and powerful” modules onto its target’s computer.
This includes a kernel-mode module called Cahnadr as well as a user-mode module called GollumApp, Kaspersky Labs notes.
These work in tandem to gather data from the computer, before sending on the stolen information to the attacker.
The malware was likely developed to spy on targets remotely, since it is able to log desktop activity as well as clipboard data.
Slingshot can also beam screenshots, keyboard data, network data, passwords, and data from USB devices back to the attackers via the infected router.
According to Kaspersky Labs, the Slingshot malware was developed at least six years ago.
Computers infected with the malware were primarily located in Kenya and Yemen.
However, infected hardware has also been located in Afghanistan, Libya, Congo, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and Tanzania.
Kaspersky Labs has not identified the creators behind the malware.
However, researchers noted that debug messages inside the malware were written in English, suggesting the software developers behind the software spoke the language.
“Slingshot is very complex, and the developers behind it have clearly spent a great deal of time and money on its creation,” Kaspersky Labs researchers wrote.
“Its infection vector is remarkable — and, to the best of our knowledge, unique.”