Blog: Stuxnet Worm Causes Worldwide Alarm

Stuxnet Worm Causes Worldwide Alarm
Financial Times (09/23/10) Joseph Menn ; Mary Watkins

The Stuxnet computer worm has triggered global anxiety by infiltrating an unknown number of industrial controls. The malware can secretly give false instructions to industrial machines and false readings to operators, and it is uncertain whether it can be effectively removed. Stuxnet is a validation of warnings by private experts and some former government officials that the electrical grid and other critical industries are susceptible to malevolent hacking, and that a new epoch of computerized attacks has commenced. Previous cyberattacks have focused on inhibiting communications in countries such as Georgia or Estonia, but Stuxnet is the first piece of malicious software with a physically destructive purpose. Experts suggest that Stuxnet is most likely affiliated with a national government and may be a tool for terrorism, ideological motivation, or even extortion. Fighting the worm is difficult due to poor communication between industry officials and computer experts. The malware would be especially threatening if its target is the electrical grid or nuclear power, as countries have invested in smart grid infrastructure designed to interweave more industrial operations with the Internet.

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