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The Stuxnet worm wasn't the world's first cyber weapon, but the computer malware
may have delayed Iran's nuclear ambitions by several years. Over a 17-month
period, Stuxnet infected computers at the Islamic Republic's Nantaz facility,
which houses nearly 9,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Stuxnet's target,
supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems made by Siemens, caused
the Iranian centrifuges to spin too fast and then suddenly stop. According to
some reports, over half of these centrifuges were taken off-line and the
facility shutdown at least twice.
Although Stuxnet was eventually discovered by Belarus-based antivirus
specialists, damage to the Iranian nuclear program was done. Unlike a missile strike or bomb
blast, however, the malware didn't destroy equipment outright. Instead, Stuxnet
falsified readings so that operators believed Iran's enrichment program was on track.
In reality, however, uranium samples were ruined and centrifuges retired years ahead
of schedule. If Stuxnet hadn't been detected, it would have eventually deleted
itself.
Is Stuxnet the new face of cyberware, or will future cyberattacks rely less upon deception than outright denial of service (DOS)?
Source: Digital Trends
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