If you haven’t heard about the Stuxnet worm by now you probably soon will. The analysis of this recently identified ‘weaponised’ worm is the opening chapter of a fascinating John le Carré novel for the 21st century with political, diplomatic and practical implications for all concerned.
A little background:
One of the most sophisticated pieces of malware ever detected was probably targeting “high value” infrastructure in Iran, experts have told the BBC.Stuxnet’s complexity suggests it could only have been written by a “nation state”, some researchers have claimed. It is believed to be the first-known worm designed to target real-world infrastructure such as power stations, water plants and industrial units.
It was first detected in June and has been intensely studied ever since.
Jonathan Fildes – Stuxnet worm ‘targeted high-value Iranian assets’ BBC 23 Sep 10
Unfortunately there is no specific forensic evidence that Iran was the target, although it seems the epicentre of infection. And clearly this is not the work of some hacker ‘sitting in the basement of his parents house:’
Since reverse engineering chunks of Stuxnet’s massive code, senior US cyber security experts confirm what Mr. Langner, the German researcher, told the Monitor: 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.Bruce Schneier – The Stuxnet Worm Schneier on Security 22 Sep 10
Holy Thumbdrive, Caped Crusader!