

Stuxnet - mahmud
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/10/stuxnet.html

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tptacek
Remember that there's really no "official" source for any of these infection
figures. Often, when you trace them down, they lead to antivirus and malware
firms, and their sources are anecdotal. The vested interests in promoting the
epidemic nature of the worm are obvious.

Likewise with the notion of how hard this piece of malware was to create. A
better metric, one you aren't seeing, is how hard this worm was to create
_compared to other worms_. Most other worms aren't even "criminal", per se;
they're pranks and dick-swinging. Apart from the SCADA components, is Stuxnet
more complex than any prior worm? I think that question is very much up in the
air. And by whose estimate did it take 6+ people to write?

You will be well served by skepticism when evaluating these stories. A similar
conspiratorial pall could have cast Slammer or Conficker in the same cloak-
and-dagger role (look how Mark Bowden, a reporter of no small repute, managed
to write Conficker up).

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jsn
Four zero-day vulnerabilities + one (zero-day?) in controller software + (at
least) two valid stolen certificates for signed drivers -- that, afaics, is
pretty hard compared to other worms; definitely not in dick-swinging league.

~~~
burningion
Agreed. The sophistication here is pretty damn impressive. It makes me think
of all the possibilities for market manipulation via well placed worms.

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danilocampos
Reading this – all the precision and thoroughness – inspired the same wry
admiration as learning the story of Operation Babylon.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera>

The press sensationalism is, as always, exhausting, so it's great to read
Schneier's balanced account. I am dying to know, for real, who set all of this
up. Meeting the team who put it together would be a blast, too.

~~~
zacharypinter
Wow, talk about bad and good luck at the same time:

"En route to the target, the Israeli strike squadron crossed the gulf of Aqaba
at an altitude of only 100 feet and in complete radio silence to avoid
detection. In a potentially disastrous stroke of bad luck, the Israeli
warplanes flew, unknowingly, directly over the yacht of King Hussein of
Jordan, who was vacationing in the Gulf at the time. Taking into account the
location, bearing, and armament of the Israeli planes Hussein quickly deduced
the Iraqi reactor to be the most probable target. Hussein immediately
contacted his government and ordered a warning to be sent to the Iraqis.
However, due to a communication failure the message was never received and the
Israeli strike team entered Iraqi air space undetected."

