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The first attack, using a computer virus called Stuxnet was launched several years ago against an Iranian nuclear facility, almost certainly with some U.S. involvement. But the implications and the possible consequences are only now coming to light.FBI Director Robert Mueller: I do believe that the cyberthreat will equal or surpass the threat from counterterrorism in the foreseeable future.Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: There's a strong likelihood that the next Pearl Harbor that we confront could very well be a cyberattack.House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers: We will suffer a catastrophic cyberattack. The clock is ticking.And there is reason for concern. For more than a decade, the U.S. military establishment has treated cyberspace as a domain of conflict, where it would need the capability to fend off attack, or launch its own. That time is here. Because someone sabotaged a top secret nuclear installation in Iran with nothing more than a long string of computer code.
To begin with Stuxnet was incredibly complicated and sophisticated, beyond the cutting edge. It had been out in the wild for a year without drawing anyone's attention, and seemed to spread by way of USB thumb drives, not over the Internet. O Murchu's job was to try and unlock its secrets and assess the threat for Symantec's clients by figuring out what the malicious software was engineered to do and who was behind it.Steve Kroft: How long was the Stuxnet code?O Murchu: You're talking tens of thousands of lines of code, a very, very long project, very well written, very professionally written and very difficult to analyze.Unlike the millions of worms and viruses that turn up on the Internet every year, this one was not trying to steal passwords, identities or money. Stuxnet appeared to be crawling around the world, computer by computer, looking for some sort of industrial operation that was using a specific piece of equipment, a Siemens S7-300 programmable logic controller.
Why would the computers that run this Iranian nuclear facility be connected to any external network in the first place?
Well, crap. *sighs* And this is why preemptive strikes are NOT a good idea. They make a lot more mess than they clean up most of the time.On EDIT: Good question, VirtualStranger. If it were on a closed network, then the only way it could get in is if someone infiltrated it.
No matter what happens, no matter what my last words may end up being, I want everyone to claim that they were: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Aww, you guys rock. I feel the love... and the pitchforks and torches. Tingly!
It wasn't. It specifically says it doesn't spread via the internet, but by infecting USB flash drives.
I actually knew a guy in high school who's uncle worked on either this virus or a similar one which overloaded the centerfuges. I dunno I support the overloading but are these the same viruses? It's important to note with cyberwarfare how easy viruses can be to contract. Like even deviantart has tons of them.
That said, I've stopped trying to anticipate what people around here want a while ago, I've found it makes things smoother.
For I was an hungred, and ye told me to pull myself up by my bootstraps: I was thirsty, and ye demanded payment for the privilege of thine urine: I was a stranger, and ye deported me: naked, and ye arrested me for indecency.
Quote from: kefkaownsall on March 05, 2012, 12:26:01 amI actually knew a guy in high school who's uncle worked on either this virus or a similar one which overloaded the centerfuges. I dunno I support the overloading but are these the same viruses? It's important to note with cyberwarfare how easy viruses can be to contract. Like even deviantart has tons of them. Dude, my dad still can't tell me some of the stuff he worked on even tho it was ages ago. I highly doubt one would be able to just go around talking about such things. At least not without getting their TSC [Top Security/Secret Clearance] yanked and themselves in deep shit. Probably hes lying I guess?I didn't consider that actuallySomeone's lyin'.
Cyberattacks are all well and good. But woe betide the nation which -- even inadvertently -- interrupts the transmission of porn.
"Radiation, were beauty measured by the soul instead of the body, you would be legendary on the status of Helen of Troy. Be strong." -The Sandman
