Israel denies hinting at involvement in Flame computer virus

Israel rebuffed insinuations of responsibility Thursday for a powerful computer virus discovered plaguing Iranian and regional computer systems this week.

Comments Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon had led some to believe he was hinting at Jerusalem’s involvement.

But a government spokesperson told the BBC that Ya’alon’s comments were taken out of context and should not be seen as Israel admitting it had a part in the virus, nicknamed Flame. “There was no part of the interview where the minister said anything to imply that Israel was responsible for the virus,” the spokesperson said.

The deputy prime minister did not explicitly deny Israeli responsibility for Flame on Tuesday, instead suggesting that Israel does possess the kind of skills necessary to create and infiltrate the virus.

“Whoever sees the Iranian threat as a significant threat is likely to take various steps, including these, to hobble it,” said an enigmatic Yaalon Tuesday, responding to a question as to whether Israel could be behind Flame.

“Israel has been blessed with a prolific high-tech sector,” Yaalon added, in an interview to Army Radio. “These tools open all kinds of possibilities for us.”

The Flame virus, which some have called the most sophisticated computer bug ever, reportedly had the ability to hijack computers, stealing information, and use infected machines’ cameras to take pictures.

The virus was discovered on Monday by Kaspersky Labs, with computers in a number of Middle Eastern states being infected, notably Iran.

Experts have said the virus’s sophistication meant it was likely the work of a country and not a rogue individual. While some have pointed a finger at Israel, others believe the US may have had a hand in the virus. According to NBC news, the virus has the hallmark of a super-secret US cyber espionage unit.