Stuxnet

Before WikiLeaks emerged to dominate the news cycle in November, Stuxnet was the leader in the clubhouse for most overhyped, misconstrued and misunderstood story of the year. The worm burst onto the scene in July when researchers discovered it using four previously unknown Windows bugs and compromising computers running esoteric Siemens industrial control software. In short order, the worm was tied to a nuclear facility in Iran, pinpointed as a creation of Israel and then touted as the first cyberwar weapon. Mostly, though, Stuxnet turned out to be whatever the observer wanted it to be. Need a bogeyman for your cyberwar argument? Stuxnet! Need evidence to prove the U.S. is hacking Iran? Stuxnet! Need to show that the CIA is writing malware? Stuxnet! In the end, Stuxnet can be seen as one of what will be a long line of targeted, highly professional pieces of malware.