Sometimes bugs in software exist that never get discovered or fixed, simply because the conditions it takes to produce them are extremely complicated which is why they might have gone unnoticed during testing. A good example was about a little more than a week ago that Microsoft had finally patched a 19-year old Windows bug.
Now that’s just a bug, imagine if it is a piece of malware that has been lurking for many years on end, which is something the folks at Symantec (via The Next Web) have recently discovered. Dubbed Regin, apparently this is a piece of malware that has been present in Windows-based PCs for the past few years.
It was first discovered back in 2008 and went on to 2011 where it infected several organizations’ and individuals’ systems. It then resurfaced in 2013 and according to Symantec, Regin has apparently been designed specifically to remain as inconspicuous as possible, which is why it might explain how the malware has kept such a low profile over the years.
The goal of the malware is to spy on its users and to collect data on them. Unfortunately Symantec has yet to discover how to remove the malware from your system or how you might be able to remove it should you discover it lurking, but according to the company, they believe “that many components of Regin remain undiscovered and additional functionality and versions may exist. Additional analysis continues and Symantec will post any updates on future discoveries”