King, R. (2012, November 9). Virus Aimed at Iran Infected Chevron's Computer Network. The Wall Street Journal,, p. B1, B2.
Mark Koelmel, general manager of Chevron's earth sciences department was quoted in the article as stating:
"I don't think the US government even realized how far [the virus] had spread. . . . I think the downside of what they did is going to be far worse than what they actually accomplished. . . . We're finding it in our systems, and so are other companies."
The article explains that Stuxnet was designed to target programmable logic controllers used to automate factory equipment. Siemens AG makes these devices, as do other large companies. They were used in Iran's centrifuge but are also used by many other companies and industries.
Majia here: It is widely acknowledged, as the article notes, that the governments of the US and Israel created Stuxnet. As this example illustrates, unleashing powerful viruses like Stuxnet is very dangerous because they can infect other systems, producing unintended and undesirable consequences.
The US and Israel are also seen as the culprits in producing the virus Flame, which uses computer networks to jump from computer-to-computer, downloading files that are transmitted out of the system using the fax network.
Terrible mischief can be wrought with these viruses.
PREVIOUS POSTS ON STUXNET AND FLAME
Aug 10, 2012
[Excerpted]
A security firm said Thursday that it had discovered what it believed
was the fourth state-sponsored computer virus to surface in the Middle
East in the last three years, apparently aimed at computers in Lebanon.
Mar 20, 2012
Imagine
a radiowave Stuxnet... Imagine the horrors that could be unleashed by
the capability to deliver hostile computer viruses remotely. The article
is rather "rah rah," but it does observe that use of a cyberweapon in
war is ...
Jun 02, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/stuxnet-was-work-of-us-and-israeli-experts-officials-say/2012/06/01/gJQAlnEy6U_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines_Sat.
By Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick, ...
Jul 28, 2012
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 ...
Jun 28, 2012
This
is intentional, but I suspect this computer attack (virus Stuxnet -
Japan/Iran) to be controlled to the extent where despite the fact that
this is a nuclear power plant of sight, the possibility of a redirection
of the radioactive ...
Jun 21, 2012
Two
leading computer security firms - Kaspersky Lab and Symantec Corp -
have confirmed that the software code in the Flame virus matches an
earlier detected virus, Stuxnet, which was widely believed to have been
used by ...
Aug 17, 2012
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-computer-virus-larger-than-stuxnet.html ... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/06/01/154162121/as-the-worm-turns-cybersecurity-expert-tracks-blowback-from-stuxnet 5.
May 29, 2012
"Researchers
have identified a sophisticated new computer virus 20 times the size of
Stuxnet, the malicious software that disabled centrifuges in an Iranian
nuclear plant. But unlike Stuxnet, the new malware appears to be ...
Jun 22, 2012
(Reuters)
- "Russia said on Wednesday that NATO should investigate last year's
computer virus attack on a Russian-built nuclear reactor in Iran, saying
the incident could have triggered a nuclear disaster on the scale of ...
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