Threat Intelligence, Malware

German government says Regin malware not on Merkel staffer’s laptop

A spokesperson for the German government has discredited claims that one of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's top aides had their laptop compromised by the Regin spying malware.

Additionally, the IT systems of the Federal Chancellery were not infected, Christiane Wirtz said on Monday, according to a report by RT.

Previously, Berlin sources claimed that the spyware – which is believed to be associated with the NSA and GCHQ intelligence agencies – made its way onto the USB stick of one of Merkel's senior staff members, according to German newspaper Bild.

Once she took the stick home to edit a speech Merkel had been preparing, she saved the document on her laptop and the next day anti-virus software detected the malware on the flash drive.

The malware has the ability to collect keylogs, take screenshots, steal files and extract emails.

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