The Stuxnet Worm-->Noble American-Israeli Mischief?-->Cyber Warfare Begins-->Revenge of the Nerds?

By Jack Brummet
Digital Warfare Editor

The most fascinating news--actually rumor and speculation [ed. note: hey, how much difference is there in 2011?]--to emerge recently concerns the possible genesis of the Stuxnet Worm. The Stuxnet worm (which most people call a virus) was discovered last summer. "It is the first discovered worm that spies on and reprograms industrial systems."

Computer security people think Stuxnet was created to target "high value infrastructures."

News reports state that the infestation by this worm has damaged Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and probably delayed the start up of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant--by four or five years! I think most of us in the West agree that is a good thing.

Interestingly, the Stuxnet worm--unlike almost all other "malware"--does no harm to most PCs and servers. According to Wikipedia "the attackers took great care to make sure that only their designated targets were hit..." The worm does this because it attacks in layers: first Windows, then the Step 7 industrial software that runs on top of Windows, and finally, it hits a Siemens PLC (a programmable logic controller rootkit).

On those very specific machines, the worm patches into the variable frequency drives, and changes their speeds, which hamstrings or cripples the computer under attack.

Symantec says whoever created the worm was well-funded, with numerous programmers (up to ten) on the project. They also estimate it would have taken six months to complete.

It is little wonder, then, that people are speculating that the worm was created by American or Israeli Intelligence, or even by the US Dept. of Homeland Security.  Sunday's New York Times reports that

"Though American and Israeli officials refuse to talk publicly about what goes on at Dimona, the operations there, as well as related efforts in the United States, are among the newest and strongest clues suggesting that the virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program."

Israel has acknowledged recently that it has a cyber-warfare with both offensive and defensive branches. What a fascinating story.

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