Bangalore: Russian multi-national computer security company, Kaspersky Lab has discovered some of the most sophisticated spying software unearthed till date, called "MiniFlame.” The company believes that the malware is likely a part of interrelated cyber espionage efforts behind Stuxnet, Duqu, Flame and Gauss.

The malware is named MiniFlame because its codes are built on the same platform as the highly sophisticated Flame virus, discovered on last May. While the original Flame virus swept in data from perhaps 5,000 computers, largely in Iran and Sudan, the new MiniFlame struck only about 50 "high-value" machines, reports Kaspersky Lab.

"Flame acts as a long sword for broad swipes while miniFlame acts as a scalpel for a focused surgical dissection," Roel Schouwenberg, a senior researcher at Kaspersky Lab, told Reuters.

Not much is known of this malware, except the infected areas include Lebanon, Iran and some of the Palestinian territories.

Kaspersky also revealed that the malware serves as a backdoor entry to systems, providing attackers direct access for remote control, data theft and the ability to take screen shots of the computer screen, as the user engages with certain software such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, web browsers, and other applications.

"The stolen data is encrypted on the server in such a way that only the attackers can read it, through strong public key cryptography," Kaspersky reported. "These features are not normally found in malware created by everyday cyber-criminals, reaffirming our initial conclusions that MiniFlame is a nation-state sponsored attack."

With Flame, Gauss and MiniFlame, it seems security researchers have only scratched surface of a massive cyber-spy operations ongoing in the Middle East. The full purpose of these malwares still remains obscure and the identity of the victims and attackers remain unknown.