Independent security experts said the scope of its complexity and method of operation suggests Flame was sponsored by a nation-state.

WSJ: Cyberattack Hits Iranian PCs

Kaspersky Labs' namesake Eugene Kaspersky is worried that widely distributed and potentially state-sponsored malware like Flame and Stuxnet pose dire threats to often lightly protected infrastructure like communication and power plants -- whatever your nationality, it's clearly bad for the civilian population of a given country to suffer even collateral damage from cyberattacks.

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Last year the state of California added the commonly used flame retardant TDCPP (chlorinated Tris) to its list of known cancer-causing chemicals.

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Many believe the complexity of Flame and the other pieces of related malware points to state-sponsorship, but Prof Woodward said the latest analysis showed little involvement from intelligence agents.

BBC: More malware targeting Iran could yet be discovered

In the Senate, Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, is holding hearings where the coastguard's admirals have been flame-broiled.

ECONOMIST: The coastguard: In Deepwater | The