A flaw in Windows related to the spread of the virus Duque

Microsoft announced on Tuesday 1st November, a flaw in its Windows operating system, previously unknown, was used to infect computers with viruses Duque. "We are doing our best to solve this problem and will post an updated security for our customers," said the software giant in a brief statement.

Duque was spotted last month, when the security software company Symantec found a virus containing a source similar to Stuxnet, a virus that had affected the Iranian Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The first information on the mode of contamination by Duque were unveiled Tuesday. According to researchers at Symantec, the virus was sent to the victims targeted by e-mail through an infected Word document as an attachment. Once the recipient has opened the file in question and infected his computer, cyber-criminals can take control, told Reuters Kevin Haley, a researcher at Symantec. They then have plenty of time to spread the virus within a network and to collect data.

RELATIONSHIP WITH Stuxnet

A race against time is committed to solve the mystery of this new virus. Early analysis suggests that it was developed by highly skilled hackers in order to prepare the ground for attacks against critical infrastructure such as power plants, oil refineries and pipelines.

The fact that Stuxnet Duque shares with some of its source code suggests that the designers of Stuxnet have this code is sent to those of Duque, either deliberately left steal this code, or that the same hackers have developed the two viruses, said Kevin Haley. "While the number of infections is still limited by Duque, we see the malware spread in several countries," says Symantec, on his blog. So far, the antivirus has identified eight affected countries, including France.