Quote:

A highly sophisticated computer worm that has burrowed into industrial systems worldwide over the past year may have been a “search-and-destroy weapon” built to take out Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor, according to news reports published on Tuesday. The articles from IDG News and The Christian Science Monitor said the Stuxnet worm was programmed to probe the hosts it infected for extremely specific settings. Unless it identified the hardware fingerprint it was looking for in industrial software systems made by Siemens, it remained largely dormant. It was only after a unique configuration on a Programmable Logic Controller device was detected that Stuxnet took action. Under those circumstances, the worm made changes to a piece of Siemens code called Operational Block 35, which monitors critical factory operations, according to IDG, which cited Eric Byres, CTO of a firm called Byres Security. IDG reported: “By messing with Operational Block 35, Stuxnet could easily cause a refinery's centrifuge to malfunction, but it could be used to hit other targets too, Byres said.” “Stuxnet is essentially a precision, military-grade cyber missile deployed early last year to seek out and destroy one real-world target of high importance – a target still unknown,” The Christian Science Monitor said. It went on to say that the digital fingerprinting capability “shows Stuxnet to be not spyware, but rather attackware meant to destroy.” Both reports said the sophistication of Stuxnet suggests Israel or some other nation state is behind the worm and both articles cited speculation by Langner that the intended target may have been Iran's Bushehr reactor, located about 750 miles from Tehran, that is under construction. The project faced reported delays around the same time Stuxnet is believed to have propagated, and the plant is believed to use the Windows-based Siemens software targeted in the attacks, IDG said. The Christian Science Monitor said Stuxnet may already have exacted damage on Bushehr and noted the facility's expected opening in late August has been delayed for unknown reasons. ®

SCADA worm a 'nation state search-and-destroy weapon' ? The Register

__________________
Standard disclaimer: the disgusting statements contained in this post are the views of the poster, and unless specified do not represent the views of the moderators or the site's owners.

Quote:

Iran's nuclear agency is trying to combat a complex computer worm that has affected industrial sites throughout the country and is capable of taking over power plants, Iranian media reports said. Experts from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran met this week to discuss how to remove the malicious computer code, or worm, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported yesterday. The computer worm, dubbed Stuxnet, can take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants. Experts in Germany discovered the worm in July, and it has since shown up in a number of attacks — primarily in Iran, Indonesia, India and the US. The ISNA report said the malware had spread throughout Iran, but did not name specific sites affected. Foreign media reports have speculated the worm was aimed at disrupting Iran's first nuclear power plant, which is to go online in October in the southern port city of Bushehr. Iranian newspapers have reported on the computer worm hitting industries around the country in recent weeks, without giving details. Yesterday's report also did not mention Bushehr. The Russian-built plant will be internationally supervised, but world powers remain concerned that Iran wants to use its civil nuclear power programme as a cover for making weapons. Iran denies such an aim and says its nuclear work is solely for peaceful purposes. The destructive Stuxnet worm has surprised experts because it is the first one specifically created to take over industrial control systems, rather than just steal or manipulate data. The United States is also tracking the worm, and the Department of Homeland Security is building specialized teams that can respond quickly to cyber emergencies at industrial facilities across the country.

Iran's nuclear agency trying to stop computer worm - Middle East, World - The Independent

__________________
Standard disclaimer: the disgusting statements contained in this post are the views of the poster, and unless specified do not represent the views of the moderators or the site's owners.

Ain't it cool when the real world move closer to sciences fiction?

I remember reading a collection of short war stories. In one of them, some cyber-"terrorists" messed around with the order for resupplying fuel to some US fighter jets over the ocean, causing them to crash...

The US got pretty upset about that but knew the cyber-terrorist (free-lancer) and somehow knew who was behind him... So they decided to cyber-sabotage one of their chemical factory (causing not-negligeable civilian casualties but, what the fuck! live's bitch) using the typing patterns and dropping other cyber-clues that the free-lancer might be behind that attack too - biting the hand that feed him... and hoping to provoke "resentment" from said employer...

The short story finish with the successful blow up of the factory (messing around with their security indicator while mixing products in non-recommended quantity or somesuch) but with the military bureaucrat running the cyber-unit admitting to some senators that, yeah, there's no way to know if that will do the trick and get the 'bad guys' to turn on each others... and that that's the new face of warfare...

__________________
Unless otherwise specified, I am posting as a regular poster. When I will act as a mod, I'll make sure you're in no doubt.