Pushing The Cyberwarfare Envelope

A computer worm so sophisticated that it attacks specific targets in specific countries, gee I wonder who would be capable of developing something that advanced?

Stuxnet Compromise at Iranian Nuclear Plant May Be By Design

Iran has confirmed that more than 30,000 PCs have been infected by the Stuxnet worm in that country, including some at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The nature of the Stuxnet worm and the infiltration of Iranian nuclear facilities has led to speculation about whether the worm was developed by the United States or its allies expressly for that purpose.

The Pentagon response to the implication is the standard cagey reply given for just about anything related to national security or military engagements. Fox News reports that, “Pentagon Spokesman Col. David Lapan said Monday the Department of Defense can “neither confirm nor deny” reports that it launched this attack.”

McAfee AVERT Labs has a thorough analysis of the Stuxnet worm which explains the threat in detail. “Stuxnet is a highly complex virus targeting Siemens’ SCADA software. The threat exploits a previously unpatched vulnerability in Siemens SIMATIC WinCC/STEP 7 (CVE-2010-2772) and four vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, two of which have been patched at this time (CVE-2010-2568, CVE-2010-2729). It also utilizes a rootkit to conceal its presence, as well as 2 different stolen digital certificates.”

Another interesting tidbit from McAfee supporting the speculation that Iran may have been the intended target of Stuxnet is that the initial discovery seemed to be primarily focused in the Middle East.

Speaking on the subject of whether the threat may have been specifically crafted for Iran, Randy Abrams, director of technical education at ESET said, “It appears that it is possible that Stuxnet may have been responsible for problems in Iran’s nuclear program over the past year, however that is speculation and it is unlikely that the Iranian government is going to say if that was the case. It is even possible that it was the case and they don’t know it.”

Abrams added, “It is entirely possible that Stuxnet was created by the United States working alone or in conjunction with allies. The fact that it is possible does not indicate it is true however. There have been a number of recent defections in Iran. It is also possible that this was an internal attack. There is still a legitimate question as to whether or not Iran was actually the target.”

See also:
Stuxnet Update
Iranian power plant infected by Stuxnet, allegedly undamaged
Iran admits Stuxnet worm infected PCs at nuclear reactor
Pentagon Silent on Iranian Nuke Virus
Stuxnet Worm Affects 30,000 Computers in Iran
Stuxnet worm assault on Iranian nuclear facilities’ computers may be Western cyber attack: experts
Computer worm infects Iran’s nuclear station
Stuxnet: Future of warfare? Or just lax security?
Stuxnet – a new age in cyber warfare says Eugene Kaspersky
Has the West declared cyber war on Iran?
Web virus aimed at nuclear work, says Tehran
Report: Stuxnet Worm Attacks Iran, Who is Behind It?
US, Israel behind cyber-attack on Iran?

Well, diplomacy sure as hell isn’t working and no one really wants to launch airstrikes against the Iranian nuclear facilities, especially fraidy cat Obama. So, maybe this is a third option, use the Iranians’ own computers to remotely destroy their nuclear related equipment, perfect, if it actually works. I know I’ve got my fingers crossed. Go U.S. or go Israel or go whoever is responsible for this brilliant plan!

/all your nuclear related computers are belong to us!