Encryption tool infected Syrian activists’ computers with spyware

A phony Skype encryption tool that promised to secure communications for Syrian activists infected their computers with spyware instead, a privacy watchdog discovered.

The software application, designed to attract downloads from Internet activists, claimed to protect Web traffic from being intercepted. Instead, it planted a DarkComet tool that could give an attacker remote access to a computer, allow him to record key strokes, and steal passwords, according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The application, found at skype-encryption.sytes.net, is just one of the many tools used by sympathizers of the Syrian regime to wage Trojan and other malicious attacks on Internet activists, the EFF said.

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