Stuxnet, duqu and other acts of cyberwar require us to rethink the concept of collateral damage as they dramatically extend the potential damage radius to distant victims. Ralph langner, a german cybersecurity researcher who was among the first to analyze the stuxnet code, came away convinced that it was a u. German expert ralph lagner describes stuxnet as a militarygrade cyber. Download citation stuxnet and the limits of cyber warfare stuxnet, the computer worm which disrupted iranian nuclear enrichment in 2010, is the first. Slashdot reader alphadogg quotes an article from network world. Stuxnet the digital weapon season 1, episode 6 tv14 cc hd cc sd stuxnet was a sophisticated cyber attack on an iranian nuclear plant that may have changed the nature of warfare forever. Specifically, stuxnet attacks scada process monitoring. Us unleashed stuxnet cyber war on iran to appease israel report. How stuxnet is rewriting the cyberterrorism playbook.
This virus, known as the most intelligent piece of software to date, is the beginning of a new era in cyber crimes. May 16, 2012 stuxnet was a big campaign, he says, by virtue of its use of a combination of software, its attack vectors, its use of digital certificates. Documentary explores the cyberwar secrets of stuxnet. Jul 04, 2016 documentary explores the cyberwar secrets of stuxnet alex gibneys new documentary, zero days, looks at the stuxnet worm a cyber weapon developed by the u. The stuxnet software is designed to attack only designated targets and was thus. Feb 26, 20 researchers at symantec corp have uncovered a version of the stuxnet computer virus that was used to attack irans nuclear program in november 2007, two years earlier than previously thought. The first part of the lecture is devoted to the description of the stuxnet worm, the first cyberweapon whose existence has been made public, discovered in 2010 and targeting a specific industrial control system. Based on the log files in stuxnet, a company called foolad technic was the first victim. The new united states military strategy makes explicit that a cyberattack is casus belli just as a traditional act of war. Collateral damage in cyberwarfare linkedin slideshare. This paper finds that the stuxnet attack does in fact rise to the level of an armed attack within the meaning of ihl and adheres to the principles of distinction and proportionality. Sheldon tuesday, april 19, 2011 in june 2009, a computer worm called stuxnet was unleashed against the nuclear enrichment plant at natanz, iran. So, as a matter of fact, as i see it, cyberwar attacks as we have just seen are actually, right now, less likely than before stuxnet because the element of surprise is missing. The new documentary about stuxnet, zero days, says the u.
Stuxnet is a computer worm that targets computer systems using the windows operating system. An unprecedented look at stuxnet, the worlds first digital. Stuxnet, cyberwar, cyberwarfare, law of war, ihl, humanitarian law, virus, iran, natanz, proportionality, distinction. If a worker stuck a usb thumb drive into an infected machine, stuxnet could, well. S korea to create cyber warfare command against n korean hackers, bbc worldwide. Stuxnet targets supervisory control and data acquisition systems and is believed to be responsible for causing substantial damage to the nuclear program of iran. Stuxnet worm heralds new era of global cyberwar technology. Stuxnet and the limits of cyber warfare researchgate.
Richard clarke on who was behind the stuxnet attack history. The stuxnet outbreak has been concentrated in iran, which suggests that a nuclear facility in that country was the intended target. Sep 30, 2010 stuxnet worm heralds new era of global cyberwar. Stuxnet is computer malware first discovered in july, 2010 that mainly targeted windows pcs and other industrial software and equipment. Stuxnet, a computer worm, discovered in june 2010, that was specifically written to take over certain programmable industrial control systems and cause the equipment run by those systems to malfunction, all the while feeding false data to the systems monitors indicating the equipment to be running. Stuxnet information and resources 1 welivesecurity. Now it appears the attack has come in an unexpected form. If its still unclear exactly what the stuxnet worm was meant to target, its possible that we wont entirely understand the consequences of this now notorious malware attack for many years to come.
The media, as well as the security industry, have taken interest in this threat since its emergence. Stuxnet and the future of cyber war computer science duke. If the stuxnet attack on iran was a limited act of cyber sabotage, on tuesday the us attempted to imagine what an allout. Stuxnet could spread stealthily between computers running windowseven those not connected to the internet. Stuxnet and the dangers of cyberwar the national interest. Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm, first uncovered in 2010, thought to have been in development since at least 2005. Israeli cooperation on stuxnet, but with israels role highlighted by the assertion that a file buried within the stuxnet worm contained. Stuxnet source code released online download now stuxnet is a microsoft windows computer worm discovered in july 2010 that targets industrial software and equipment. Researchers say stuxnet was deployed against iran in 2007. This is because it appears that stuxnet is designed to spy on and take over industrial equipment and control systems. Worm has ties to both bush and obama, as fears of a nuclear iran persist.
What stuxnets exposure as an american weapon means for cyberwar. To kill a centrifuge detailed stuxnet analysis langner. With mehdi aroom, alireza salehi, ali abbasnejad, ismael zabihi. Warning this is an active virus for malware analysis. A fascinating new documentary film by alex gibney called zero days that premieres on friday tells the story of stuxnet, along with the frightening takeaway that, while this was the first cyber. Stuxnet, the computer worm which disrupted iranian nuclear enrichment in 2010, is the first instance of a computer network attack known to cause physical damage across international boundaries. News about cyberattacks on iran stuxnet and flame, including commentary and archival articles published in the new york times. In this presentation, given at naval leadership weekend 2014, i discuss the concept of collateral damage in a cyberwarfare environment. It might be long over, but there are important things for cybersecurity pros to learn from its outbreak that could affect everyone. Cyberwar the meaning of stuxnet leaders the economist. The worm exploited a zeroday vulnerability in windows. Already, highly sophisticated, stealthy computer programs such as the notorious stuxnet worm can take over and even destroy the control. The topsecret massive sabotage targeting irans natanz uranium enrichment facility was arguably the first episode of a new age of warfare, similar to the first use of nuclear weapons or the first military drone attack, according to an investigation by the new york times. What stuxnets exposure as an american weapon means for.
Jul 22, 2011 this paper finds that the stuxnet attack does in fact rise to the level of an armed attack within the meaning of ihl and adheres to the principles of distinction and proportionality. Iran denies that stuxnet did any major damage to its nuclear program. Stuxnet is a worm that initially made news in july due to its use of certain vulnerabilities to propagate and execute its routines. But last week, the outgoing chief of israels mossad spy agency publicly asserted that iran wouldnt be capable of making a. Jan 29, 20 stuxnet and the dangers of cyberwar by vincent manzo operation olympic games, more commonly known as the stuxnet worm, damaged irans centrifuges and delayed its uranium enrichment efforts. Report of a stuxnet unrelated vulnerability in scada software, a speculative cyberwar link, and some links on iranian post stuxnet cybermilitia recruitment appended, 12th january 2011. Jun 01, 2012 as richard clarke outlined in his 2010 book, cyberwar, the u. Cyberspace the fifth domain of warfare the other domains of warfare are land, air, sea, and space. Zero days film tells the true story of the stuxnet cyber. Spatestens seit stuxnet eine iranische urananreicherungsanlage attackierte, ist klar, welche macht.
Security experts and partners debate the potential techwar and. Stuxnet had initially grabbed the tech worlds attention as a hack of the windows operating systema virus that exploited an unknown vulnerability. Stuxnet, this worm demonstrated a number of interesting qualities, including a specific attack vector that was limited to certain computers operating in a rather unique fashion. In july 2010 a computer virus attacked a nuclear facility in iran.
Cyberwar s01e06 stuxnet the digital weapon 720p web dl. While it is not the first time that crackers have targeted industrial systems,it is the first discovered malware that spies on and subverts industrial systems,and the first to. How stuxnet cyber weapon targeted iran nuclear plant. But then it was almost a week before the next company. The new york times published a story that pointed to u. Stuxnet was a sophisticated cyber attack on an iranian nuclear plant that may have changed the nature of warfare forever. Stuxnet is the first aimed at physical destruction and it heralds a new era in cyberwar, says the article, which appears on the fts front page. Stuxnet attacks iran again, reports say the worm apparently was aimed at a power plant and other sites in southern iran but was thwarted. It is believed that stuxnet spread through infected usb flash drives. Aug 15, 2017 stuxnet was one of the most advanced malware attacks in history. Cyberwar comes of age quite simply, cyberwar is reality. Download our stuxnet analysis as a pdf by clicking on the cover page to the left. Stuxnet was first detected in june of 2010 and immediately gained the attention of pc security researchers around the world. Cyberwarfare in the united states is a part of the american military strategy of proactive cyber defence and the use of cyberwarfare as a platform for attack.
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