Saturday, July 28, 2012

Doth Protest Too Much


Majia here: I've discovered a pattern involved with too much protest by people with official titles.

Now, I start listening when authorities argue too vehemently that "no" threat exists.

I am concerned that the strong assertion that Stuxnet hasn't impacted US nuclear power plants is in fact a sign that there are concerns that it has, or may likely....

Rise Is Seen in Cyberattacks Targeting U.S. Infrastructure by David Sanger & Eric Schmitt Published: July 26, 2012. The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/us/cyberattacks-are-up-national-security-chief-says.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120727

[Excerpted] "The top American military official responsible for defending the United States against cyberattacks said Thursday that there had been a 17-fold increase in computer attacks on American infrastructure between 2009 and 2011, initiated by criminal gangs, hackers and other nations. 

The assessment by Gen. Keith B. Alexander, who heads the National Security Agency and also the newly created United States Cyber Command...

General Alexander...said that he thought the increase was unrelated to the release two years ago of a computer worm known as Stuxnet, which was aimed at taking down Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.

When the worm inadvertently became public, many United States officials and outside experts expressed concern that it could be reverse-engineered and used against American targets. General Alexander said he saw no evidence of that...."

Majia here: RED FLAG ALERT. 

Someone whose opinion I respect has noted recently that there have been quite a few unusual events at US nuclear power plants that involve problems with the readings/instrumentation at the plants.

This person suggested that Stuxnet could possibly have infected some US nuclear power plants.

I don't know because I lack the expertise to have an informed opinion. However, it is worth noting that others are discussing this possibility, including rather mainstream sources such as NPR and the Washington Post.

U.S. power plants at risk of attack by computer worm like Stuxnet By Ellen Nakashima Friday, October 1, 2010; 2:49 PM  Washington Post
 
[Excerpted] "A sophisticated worm designed to infiltrate industrial control systems could be used as a blueprint to sabotage machines that are critical to U.S. power plants, electrical grids and other infrastructure, experts are warning...

...Joe Weiss, an industrial control system security specialist and managing partner at Applied Control Solutions in Cupertino, Calif., said "the really scary part" about Stuxnet is its ability to determine what "physical process it wants to blow up." Said Weiss: "What this is, is essentially a cyber weapon."

Majia here: Finally, here is a link suggesting the US lost control of Stuxnet

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/06/confirmed-us-israel-created-stuxnet-lost-control-of-it/

Majia Here: Cyberweapons like Stuxnet and Flame are insane and have the potential to unleash an ELE if we haven't already accomplished that. Here is an excellent editorial published last month in the New York Times

Op-Ed Contributor The New York Times A Weapon We Can’t Control By MISHA GLENNY
Published: June 24, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/opinion/stuxnet-will-come-back-to-haunt-us.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120625

[excerpted]
THE decision by the United States and Israel to develop and then deploy the Stuxnet computer worm against an Iranian nuclear facility late in George W. Bush’s presidency marked a significant and dangerous turning point in the gradual militarization of the Internet. Washington has begun to cross the Rubicon. If it continues, contemporary warfare will change fundamentally as we move into hazardous and uncharted territory.

There is no international treaty or agreement restricting the use of cyberweapons, which can do anything from controlling an individual laptop to disrupting an entire country’s critical telecommunications or banking infrastructure. It is in the United States’ interest to push for one before the monster it has unleashed comes home to roost.
Stuxnet was originally deployed with the specific aim of infecting the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran....
...Advanced cyberwar is different: a country’s assets lie as much in the weaknesses of enemy computer defenses as in the power of the weapons it possesses ...

Majia here: The danger is that cyberweapons could take down entire power grids, causing nuclear plants to meltdown everywhere affected,  producing an apocalypse.
 

 Related posts

Stuxnet produced by US and Israel http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/stuxnet-work-of-us-and-israel.html

On Flame (the counterpart to Stuxnet) http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/headline-from-jan-26-2011-if-that-is.html

On Shadow wars http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/sojourners-shadow-wars.html


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.