Suspected State Hacking Campaign Used Commercial Software

A previously undisclosed hacking campaign against military targets in Israel and Europe is probably backed by a country that misused security-testing software to cover its tracks and enhance its capability. Researchers coordinated by Israel's independent Computer Emergency Response Team said the attack program relied on software usually sold by Boston-based Core Security to companies and other customers that want to test their own defenses. Criminal hackers have made use of penetration-testing tools for years, other experts said, but most major government-sponsored hacks have specially written tools supplemented by free and widely available programs. Iran has beefed up its Internet operations in the years since its nuclear program was attacked by Stuxnet, an unusually destructive virus developed by the United States and Israel.