quinta-feira, novembro 18, 2010

Stuxnet

Stuxnet manipulate physical equipment

Stuxnet is a worm that targets industrial control systems, which are used to monitor and control large-scale industrial plants such as power plants, dams, waste processing systems and other industrial operations.

How funcionaStuxnet search for industrial control systems and then modify their code to allow attackers to take control of these systems without the operator noticing. In other words, this threat was created to allow hackers to manipulate physical equipment, which makes it extremely dangerous.

This threat is unlike anything ever seen before, both in relation to what she does, like how she appeared. It is the first computer virus capable of causing damage to the physical environment. He is sophisticated, well funded, and few groups now have the ability to create this kind of threat. It is also the first cyber attack that we know that target specific industrial control systems.

The worm is composed of complex computer codes, which require different skills to create it. Security experts from Symantec estimates that it took five to ten people working together for six months. Furthermore, knowledge of industrial control systems was necessary, as well as access to such systems to conduct quality tests, which again indicates that this project is a highly organized and well financed.

"We definitely never seen anything like this before," said Liam O'Murchu, a researcher at Symantec Security Response. "The fact that he can control how machines are at work is very worrying."

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