We need to get into the mood for this, so let's go to the videotape.
YNet comments on the use of the LUA programming language for the computer virus Flame. Lua is a language that is a favorite of game programmers, including those who programmed the Angry Birds.
The "Flame" computer virus, which wreaked havoc on several major Iranian computer systems, is related to none other than the "Angry Birds" game, Fox News reported Thursday.
According to the report, "Flame" – dubbed "the most sophisticated cyber-weapon ever" – was written in LUA computer language, which the incredibly popular game was written in.
Fox quoted cyber experts as saying Flame's complexity indicates that it contains some 250,000 lines of code or more, yet it was constructed using LUA, which is favored by game programmers due to its ease of use.
"The people who developed the malware found an ingenious way to use a code not part and parcel of a hacker's normal arsenal, and that made it harder to detect," Cedric Leighton, a former Air Force Intelligence officer told the American news network.
The bird-beak in question reportedly sported "unusually large nostrils," which – combined with the identification ring – raised suspicions that the bird was "implanted with a surveillance device" and that it arrived in Turkey as part of an espionage mission.
The bird's remains were originally handed over to the Turkish Agriculture Ministry, which then turned in over to Ankara's security services.
News of the "spy bird" spread quickly within Turkey's ornithological community, and Israeli ornithologists soon got word of it as well.
The Society for Protection of Nature in Israel was alerted and was able to confirm that the bird was banded about four years ago, as a matter of routine,
Yoav Pearlman, of the Israeli Birdwatching Center, explained that Israel's north is home to a large bee-eater population, and that many more use Israel as a stop in their migration route, which includes Turkey, southern Europe and Russia.
"The Turkish authorities can rest easy – it's not a spy," Pearlman said.
You might recall a similar incident involving a vulture in Saudi Arabia about 15 months ago. These people really are paranoid, aren't they? Heh.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
