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The worst of 2010: Stuxnet surfaces |
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Viruses and malware aren't new, but the Stuxnet Trojan horse was the first to target Siemens' large-scale industrial
control systems. Built over several months by a sophisticated programming team that some speculate
was sponsored by Israel, it contained four zero-day exploits that attacked installations such as Iran's Bushehr
nuclear reactor. Eventually, it infected more than 100,000 computers worldwide. Such state-centric
attacks date back to a Russian pipeline-control system infected back in 1982, but the level of care
in its creation and precision targeting of Stuxnet is chilling.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Strom is a freelance writer and professional speaker based in St. Louis. He
is former editor in chief of TomsHardware.com, Network Computing magazine and DigitalLanding.com. Read more from Strom at Strominator.com.
This was first published in December 2010
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