Turla or Uroboros (
Russian: Турла) is a
Trojan package that is suspected by
computer security
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...
researchers and Western
intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...
s to be the product of a
Russian government
The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russ ...
agency of the same name.
High infection rates of the virus were observed in Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam, followed by US and China, and low infection rates in Europe, South America and Asia (including India).
Malware
Turla has been targeting
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
s and
militaries since at least 2008.
In December 2014 there was evidence of it targeting operating systems running
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...
.
Group
The advanced persistent threat hacking group has also been named Turla.
Dan Goodin in ''
Ars Technica
''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...
'' described Turla as "Russian spies".
Turla has since been given other names such as Snake, Krypton, and Venomous Bear.
See also
*
Agent.BTZ
*
Red October (malware)
References
Spyware
Linux malware
Hacking (computer security)
Espionage
Cyberwarfare
Hacker groups
Hacking in the 2010s
Russian advanced persistent threat groups
Cybercrime in India
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