The discovery in june 2010 that a cyber worm dubbed stuxnet had struck the iranian nuclear facility at natanz suggested that, for cyber war, the future is now. A spanishlanguage translation of the article is also available from air and space power journal. While it is not the first time that hackers have targeted industrial systems, nor the first publicly known intentional act of cyberwarfare to be implemented, it is the first discovered malware that spies on and subverts industrial systems, and the first to. How digital detectives deciphered stuxnet, the most menacing malware in history satellite image of the natanz nuclear enrichment plant in iran taken in 2002 when it was still under construction. Symantec reverseengineered stuxnet and issued a detailed technical report on its operation. Stuxnet raises blowback risk in cyberwar the stuxnet computer worm successfully damaged centrifuges at a nuclear facility in iran. Stuxnet, cyberwar, cybersabotage, blah welivesecurity. Not only was stuxnet much more complex than any other piece of malware seen before, it also followed a completely new approach thats no longer aligned with conven tional confidentiality, integrity, and availability thinking. Abstract for almost two decades, experts and defense establishments the world over have been predicting that cyber war is coming. 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 the start of new cyberwar era brian wang september 26, 2011 christian science monitor one year ago a malicious software program called stuxnet exploded onto the world stage as the first publicly confirmed cyber superweapon a digital guided missile that could emerge from cyber space to destroy a physical target in the real world. Only the stuxnet worm may point to a huge innovation for cyberwar. Stuxnet was the first case where there was a nationstate activity to physically destroy infrastructure via a cyberattack.
Active investigation of stuxnet effectively came to an end in february 2011, when symantec posted a final update to its definitive report on the virus, including key details about its execution. Oct 20, 2011 internet security specialists have warned of a new round of cyber warfare in the form of a computer virus similar to the malicious stuxnet worm believed to have targeted irans nuclear program. That irans nuclear facility was the target hardened the early suspicions that stuxnet was a cyberweapon released by a western government no. 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. In the rush to report the technical details of the. Visiting cybersleuths around the globe, michael joseph gross investigates the impact of the stuxnet worms. What stuxnet is all about jan 10, 2011 once upon a time, some organization which follows the nuclear situation in iran closely determined that international sanctions and sabotage would not be sufficient to stop the growing enrichment capability in natanz. Active investigation of stuxnet effectively came to an end in february 2011, when symantec posted a final update to its definitive report on the. April 2011 a computer virus hunters in finland michael shnayerson, a declaration of cyberwar last summer, the worlds top softwaresecurity experts were panicked by the discovery of a dronelike computer virus, radically different from and far more. At this writing, were pretty confident that we understand what it doesdid. Son of stuxnet could usher in a new chapter in cyber warfare. Sheldon tuesday, april 19, 2011 in june 2009, a computer worm called stuxnet was unleashed against the nuclear enrichment plant at natanz, iran. Find out why jack wallen highly recommends the film.
In july 2010 a computer virus attacked a nuclear facility in iran. Stuxnet, cyberwar, cybersabotage, blah while most of the recent media interest in stuxnet has centred on the new york times story, theres. Stuxnet was a malware first discovered in 2010 on an iranian computer. For those of you new to stuxnet, its 2011 s biggest gift to cyberwarfare. Stuxnet and the future of cyber war computer science duke. Cyberwar arms race sends nations to shopping frenzy. Perspectives for cyber strategists on law for cyberwar. Cyberwar revolution in military affairs paulo shakarian is a captain in the u. The stuxnet virus, on the other hand, was a very different animal. I wrote a year ago that stuxnet demonstrated the difficulties and dangers of offensive cyber warfare. In january of this year, mike mcconnell, the former director of national intelligence at the national security agency under george w bush, told reuters that the us had indeed attacked foreign computer systems at one time or another, and. Stuxnet, the computer worm which disrupted iranian nuclear.
Cyberwar revolution in military affairs small wars. The new york times describes it as may be the most sophisticated. Stuxnet raises blowback risk in cyberwar wbur news. Cyberwar revolution in military affairsby paulo shakariandownload the full article. By rendering the false report, stuxnet hides itself, making it more difficult to detect. Perspectives for cyber strategists on law for cyberwar by. Cyberwar revolution in military affairs by paulo shakarian that originally appeared in the april 2011 edition of small wars journalpublished online at. 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. Oct 31, 2016 understanding stuxnet and other covert responses to the iranian nuclear program duration. Iranian ambitions and western fears putting the stuxnet attack in perspective, it is worth noting the background to this cyber attack by looking at iran and its nuclear ambitions over the last fifty years.
Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm, first uncovered in 2010, thought to have been in development since at least 2005. In cyber talk, a worm is a malicious program or code inserted into computer systems without user permission or knowledge. Unlike stuxnet, to which it seems to be related, it was designed to gather information rather than to interfere with industrial operations. Cyberwar revolution in military affairs small wars journal. Oceny, recenzje, obsada, dyskusje wiadomosci, zwiastuny, ciekawostki oraz galeria. Stuxnet is a computer worm that gained notoriety in 2010 as it took down about one fifty of irans nuclear centrifuges.
Stuxnet expert lagner terms the virus a militarygrade cyber missile instigating an allout cyberstrike against the iranian nuclear programme quoted in farwell and rohozinski 2011. Zero days is a documentary by oscarwinning filmmaker alex gibney about the cyberwarfare pandoras box that was opened with the stuxnet malware. Cybersecurity and cyberwar free download pdf ebook. Stuxnet photographed on the bolshoy moskvoretsky bridge, near the kremlin.
Cyberwar s01e06 stuxnet the digital weapon 720p web dl. 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. Stuxnet is basically an enhanced worm that begins life on a removable storage device. If the stuxnet attack on iran was a limited act of cyber sabotage, on tuesday the. Join me on facebook protected under the creative commons license for reuse. The proliferation of martial rhetoric in connection with the release of thousands of pages of sensitive government documents by the wikileaks organization underlines how easily words that have legal meanings can be indiscriminately applied to cyber events in ways that can confuse decision makers and strategists alike.
Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, the worm is widely understood to be a cyberweapon built. Jul 31, 2012 surviving cyberwar is now a priority for enterprises, with more stuxnet malwarestyle attacks sure to come. Stuxnet was a wake up call for the nuclear industry, according to andrea cavina, nuclear security professional at. Jul 03, 2011 join me on facebook protected under the creative commons license for reuse.
Stuxnet was a sophisticated cyber attack on an iranian nuclear plant that may have changed the nature of warfare forever. Such a destructive cyberterrorist attack could virtually paralyze the nation. Mar 02, 2011 last summer, a mysterious computer virus appeared to hit irans nuclear program. I was sitting around with my cnas colleagues the other day, jiving about stuxnet and other fun cyberwar stuff. Cyberwar has been big news this year, from stuxnet to claims that china has a massive cyber warfare capability. Stuxnet and the launch of the world s first digital weapon pdf. Us accused of creating three more computer superviruses. Stuxnet has proven that we live in interesting times. Cyberwar revolution in military affairspaulo shakarian is a captain in the u. With mehdi aroom, alireza salehi, ali abbasnejad, ismael zabihi. As cyberwar gained merit and criticism during 2010, with the moviematerial stuxnet incident being the posterboy for news outlets that published every spinoff, speculation, and plain old gossip, the international scene had its own race for the latest and greatest defense mechanisms. Stuxnet, discovered by sergey ulasen, initially spread via microsoft windows, and targeted siemens industrial control systems. Cyberwar revolution in military affairson june 17th, 2010, security researchers at a small belarusian firm known as virusblockada identified malicious software malware that infected usb memory sticks. In the months that followed, there was a flurry of activity in the computer security.
It was designed to specifically to sabotage centrifuges in the iranian nuclear facility of natanz. The stuxnet computer worm successfully damaged centrifuges at a nuclear facility in iran. Nov 02, 2011 stuxnet raises blowback risk in cyberwar the stuxnet computer worm successfully damaged centrifuges at a nuclear facility in iran. How digital detectives deciphered stuxnet, the most. The weapons are too difficult to control to make them effective tools for legitimate warfare.
Nov 02, 2011 stuxnet was the first case where there was a nationstate activity to physically destroy infrastructure via a cyberattack. 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. Stuxnet is the not so secret weapon of cyberwarfare, and america probably created it. Jan 28, 2011 symantec reverseengineered stuxnet and issued a detailed technical report on its operation. Stuxnet, cyberwar, cyberwarfare, law of war, ihl, humanitarian law. Stuxnet has apparently infected over 60,000 computers, more than half of them in iran. Cyberwar s01 ep06 stuxnet the digital weapon hd watch.
This virus, known as the most intelligent piece of software to date, is the beginning of a new era in cyber crimes. The wikileaks phenomenon is but the latest in a series of recent cyber. Stuxnet and the dangers of cyberwar the national interest. It infected computer systems and altered code in a way that made it too risky to. When i started work at the international atomic energy agency. Stuxnet, cyberwar, cyberwarfare, law of war, ihl, humanitarian law, virus, iran, natanz, proportionality, distinction. Taking stock of security and warfare in the digital. On june 17th, 2010, security researchers at a small belarusian firm known as virusblockada identified malicious software malware that infected usb memory sticks. 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. Cyberwar revolution in military affairs researchgate. Last year marked a turning point in the history of cybersecuritythe arrival of the first cyber warfare weapon ever, known as stuxnet. The leading force behind stuxnet is the cyber superpower there is only one. Tapping into the geopolitics of hacking and surveillance, ben makuch travels the world.
Reactions to the use of stuxnet in iran generally fall into two. This article argues in three steps that cyber war has never happened in the past, that cyber war does not take place in the present, and that it is unlikely that cyber war will occur in the future. Stuxnet source code released online download now stuxnet is a microsoft windows computer worm discovered in july 2010 that targets industrial software and equipment. Nov 15, 2016 cyberwar season 1 episode 1 stuxnet the digital weapon. Stuxnet is the hiroshima of cyber war the atlantic. April 2011 a declaration of cyberwar duke computer science.
Stuxnet has been described as a marksmans job, because while the virus continued to infect other computers, it was engineered to only unleash its effects upon certain devices with very specific parameters. Cap1y2 cyberwarstuxnet the digital weapom darriem love. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Stuxnet dossier, symantec security response, version 1. That is its true significance, and all the speculation about its target and its source should not blind us to that larger reality.
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