Detection tools for new malware released

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Two European security firms say they've release online tools to allow Windows users to check for infection by Gauss, a newly revealed surveillance malware.

Russia's Kaspersky Lab and the Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics each published Gauss detection tools Friday, Computerworld reported.

Gauss is a sophisticated cyber threat that has been found to be monitoring financial transactions of Middle Eastern banks, Kaspersky said Thursday.

Kaspersky researchers said they believed Gauss was state-sponsored, largely because of coding practices that resemble those used in Flame, a similar spying and data-stealing toolkit that targeted Iranian computers.

Gauss may be part of a wider investigation into the funding of terrorist groups, they said, rejecting the idea it is just a run-of-the-mill Trojan meant to steal money by hacking accounts.

Both of the released detection tools attempt to identify Gauss by looking for a custom-built font, dubbed "Palida Narrow," that the malware adds to infected machines, Computerworld said.