Stuxnet Finger Pointing

Stuxnet debuted with a frenzy in 2010 after researchers exposed the malware already busily disrupting Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. That was followed this past year by continued speculation, finger pointing and even some dismissive attitudes about the worm, which targets Siemens-made industrial control devices.

Stuxnet debuted with a frenzy in 2010 after researchers exposed the malware already busily disrupting Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. That was followed this past year by continued speculation, finger pointing and even some dismissive attitudes about the worm, which targets Siemens-made industrial control devices. The most troubling buzz of 2011 was that many of the vulnerabilities exploited by Stuxnet remain unpatched. Not to worry, say some experts. Nobody has stepped forward to take credit for crafting the disruptive worm, and for good reason, they say. Basic errors in the original Stuxnet code made the malware less effective and easier to detect than it might have been. The mistakes likely also mean that the programmers behind the Stuxnet attack may not have been the super-elite cadre of state-sponsored developers we’ve been led to believe.

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