In June 2012 Stuxnet was found lurking in the database of powerplants,banks and nuclear plants around the world.!
Twenty times more powerful than any previous known it had an array of capabilities:
Among them the ability to turn of the pressure inside the nuclear reactor or switch of oil pipelines and stuxnet could tell the operator that everything was normal.!
Unlike other viruses Stuxnet doesn't carry any forged security clearance...that helps viruses burrow into systems.It actually had a real clearance stolen form one of the most reputed companies in the world(Realtek if you really want to know)!
It exploited the security gaps which the system creators were unaware of,these holes are known as zero days,and the most successful viruses exploit them.The details of the zero days can be sold on the black market for $100,000.
Stuxnet took advantage of TWENTY such zero days.Once stuxnet was buried in a system it didn't always operate.It would be activated only upon finding specific targets,without which the code would be dormant.
Well what was it looking to shutdown?
The nuclear centrifuges that spin nuclear material at Iran's nuclear enrichment facility.
STUXNET was a weapon the first one made entirely out of code.!
The thing about stuxnet is that it is open source,hence it is freely available online for anyone to tinker with.This code which has the ability to shutdown nuclear power plants is more easily available than your game updates or system updates.
Iran responded by making an open call for hackers and now has the second largest cyber army in the world known as Iran national Revolutionary guards.
The creators of the virus,ok stuxnet consist of heavily guarded coders who know what to get from where.Fingers are being pointed at US and Israel but they have shrugged it off.The maker of the nuclear centrifuges also was blamed for not exploring the zero days.Siemens which has its equipment in the facility had software which had exploits and one which no one knew about!
So whats next?
Cyber warfare is just getting whole new face in this computer driven world of ours.
It doesn't matter who uses it or what they can do,all that is matters how it can affect us.
Twenty times more powerful than any previous known it had an array of capabilities:
Among them the ability to turn of the pressure inside the nuclear reactor or switch of oil pipelines and stuxnet could tell the operator that everything was normal.!
Unlike other viruses Stuxnet doesn't carry any forged security clearance...that helps viruses burrow into systems.It actually had a real clearance stolen form one of the most reputed companies in the world(Realtek if you really want to know)!
It exploited the security gaps which the system creators were unaware of,these holes are known as zero days,and the most successful viruses exploit them.The details of the zero days can be sold on the black market for $100,000.
Stuxnet took advantage of TWENTY such zero days.Once stuxnet was buried in a system it didn't always operate.It would be activated only upon finding specific targets,without which the code would be dormant.
Well what was it looking to shutdown?
The nuclear centrifuges that spin nuclear material at Iran's nuclear enrichment facility.
STUXNET was a weapon the first one made entirely out of code.!
The thing about stuxnet is that it is open source,hence it is freely available online for anyone to tinker with.This code which has the ability to shutdown nuclear power plants is more easily available than your game updates or system updates.
Iran responded by making an open call for hackers and now has the second largest cyber army in the world known as Iran national Revolutionary guards.
The creators of the virus,ok stuxnet consist of heavily guarded coders who know what to get from where.Fingers are being pointed at US and Israel but they have shrugged it off.The maker of the nuclear centrifuges also was blamed for not exploring the zero days.Siemens which has its equipment in the facility had software which had exploits and one which no one knew about!
So whats next?
Cyber warfare is just getting whole new face in this computer driven world of ours.
It doesn't matter who uses it or what they can do,all that is matters how it can affect us.
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