Stuxnet Virus, Cyber 'Super Weapon,' Targets Power Plants, Factories

ABC News:

A first-of-its-kind computer worm is taking malicious software to an unprecedented level.

As if attempting to steal personal information or inflicting chaos on your laptop isn't bad enough, security experts say the Stuxnet worm is designed to hijack and potentially cripple real-world targets such as nuclear power plants, factories and oil rigs.

Read the whole story: ABC News

Comments

[MarsAmbassador]

02:34 PM on 09/26/2010

The following wars will never end:

The War On The Middle Class
The Cyberwar
The Culture War
War of Religion
The Conservative War On Science
The War On Terrorism
The War On Poverty

[tonyjim]

02:22 PM on 09/25/2010

Who do you suspect released the Stuxnet worm?

I'm guessing Israel or Saudi Arabia. Both would be concerned about Iran's nuclear arsenal because of their proximity to Iran.

[JohnSawyer]

11:05 PM on 09/24/2010

Come on. Which nations have both the resources, and antipathy towards Iran, to do this? Two come to mind.

[revko]

04:19 PM on 09/24/2010

Weapons of Mass ctrl-alt-Delete

[Benover de Viros]

01:49 PM on 09/24/2010

Terrifying for sure. I am just saying we do not need the military invading yet another country, in this case Iran, to byte the head off the Worm of Mass Destruction (WMD)

[Benover de Viros]

01:46 PM on 09/24/2010

Terrifying prospect. That said. What logic. Since one country has the highest known/stated infection rate it must be the origin. Otherwise double speak for sure

[ALoayza]

12:19 PM on 09/24/2010

Get a Mac. Problem solved.

[Benover de Viros]

01:54 PM on 09/24/2010

why is mac virus free?

[tonyjim]

02:15 PM on 09/25/2010

If Mac OS was as widespread as MS OS, you would have the same problem. Macs are only 10% of the market.

[iamvalid]

02:13 PM on 09/25/2010

What a totally moronic comment. What, are you 12?

[Eris23]

10:14 AM on 09/24/2010

"He said it has the power not only to control machinery anywhere in the world, including those key to water supplies, sewage, oil refineries and factories, it also can hide its hijack from system administrators."

The old saying, "if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is," is running through my mind. If it can hide itself, how was it found? It is predominantly in Iran? Psyops?

[okami]

10:13 AM on 09/24/2010

in my opinion, this is a political (military) weapon. it takes cybernetic disruption to a new level by targeting infrastructure, disrupting or rendering useless what could be vital military and political targets in a conventional conflict.

as such, it could only originated by a political group with extensive knowledge in this area: dissidents, a 'cyber-insurgency', or the government of another nation-state.

. . .and this makes me wonder how many are capable of such a thing. . .

[Eris23]

10:16 AM on 09/24/2010

Every time I hear of this though, it just has me wondering why, in this day and age, and given that Morris' worm caused so much damage two decades ago that was highly publicized, why is such critical infrastructure reachable via the internet?

[okami]

10:03 PM on 09/24/2010

it's difficult for people to think proactively, and some elements actively fight proaction, either because it's too expensive or 'it's always been done this way'. cybersecurity is only one example.

some companies actively seek and plug weaknesses. others just glide until something hits. this is observable in almost any venue of life; politics is the most blatant example.

and the American citizen rarely thinks beyond a few years. they don't really plan for decades or longer.

resistannce and apathy ensures there'll be deficiencies in our defenses.