Tag Archives: Stuxnet
Stuxnet May Have Been a Flop, Report Says
A new report published by a respected British think tank has challenged the conventional wisdom that the Stuxnet worm was a major setback to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Ivanka Barzashka, a researcher in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, said in the report – based largely on data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – that Stuxnet … Read more
Possible Stuxnet Defense Developed
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed an innovative way of protecting networked control systems from cyber attack – raising the possibility of a defense against Stuxnet-type sabotage. A release from NCSU (http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wms-chow-dncs/) said Dr. Mo-Yuen Chow and PhD student Wente Zeng had created an algorithm that detects and isolates cyber attacks on systems of the kind used … Read more
RSA Coverage: Stuxnet Much Older than Thought
Stuxnet, the sophisticated piece of malware that made headlines back in 2010 as the first computer cyber weapon is an evolved version of an earlier incarnation of the infamous worm, according to a Symantec white paper issued at the RSA conference today. The newly discovered Stuxnet variant, according to analysis of the version number embedded in its code, reportedly may … Read more
Banking “spyware” opens questions about who is spying on who
The discovery of a variant of from the same family that brought us Flame (and Stuxnet and Duqu), this one focused on Lebanese banks is the latest in a still developing series of disclosures. The revelation of the first-ever banking Trojan of this high-powered pedigree may just be the tip of the iceberg. Here’s what we know and what we … Read more
Is it time for treaties governing the use of cyber weapons?
In a New York Times op-ed piece, Misha Glenny raises some interesting arguments about the lack of any international treaties controlling the use of cyber weapons, particularly over their use in peacetime. “It is one thing to write viruses and lock them away safely for future use should circumstances dictate it,” Glenny writes. “It is quite another to deploy them … Read more
Understanding and defeating APT, Part 1:
Waking up to the who and why behind APT
The SANS Institute is introducing a course to train security personnel to detect and remediate Advance Persistent Threats (APT), sophisticated and surreptitious attacks, generally to conduct industrial/commercial/government espionage. Security Bistro spoke with security, incident response and forensics expert, Rob Lee, instructor for the course, “Advanced Computer Forensic Analysis and Incident Response,” about understanding and combating APT. In the first of … Read more
Are there cyber warfare rules of engagement?
New techniques, but the old rules may still apply
My former colleague Bill Brenner stirred up some interesting reaction to his recent posting about engaging in cyber warfare, “Iran deserves the malware, but expect a backlash.” It’s the right time for this discussion. Folks in the security industry — and I include myself — tend to get so immersed in the what and how of Flame, Stuxnet and Duqu … Read more
Flame is the Mother of All Spyware, but while it may
raise the stakes, it doesn’t change the game
Flame brings us spyware that is truly worthy of the name. You don’t hear the word “spyware” used much these days, but according to Kaspersky Lab’s initial analyses, we’ve never seen malware so adept and stealthy at watching, capturing and stealing in so many ways. Kaspersky’s Alexander Gostev says it “redefines the notion ofcCyberwar and cyber espionage.” It’s been in … Read more
Posted in Security Threats, Uncategorized
Tagged Duqu, Flame, intelligence gathering, Kaspersky Lab, Stuxnet
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Energy sector threats keep us up at night;
McAfee/Intel unveils multilayer protection plan
Potential threats to the nation’s energy supply, generation and distribution systems attract intense scrutiny not so much because of what has happened but because of what we believe could happen. The specter of an attack that could severely impair, for example, the distribution of electricity in much the same way Stuxnet damaged the Iranian uranium enrichment program, raises alarms that … Read more
Posted in Security Management, Security Threats
Tagged ICS, Intel, McAfee, SCADA, Stuxnet
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Busting someone out of prison?
Forget about the hacksaws. Hack the SCADA system
Rocky: “Pass the word, we’re busting out at 2 a.m. Everyone.” Snake: “Everyone? How we gonna’ open all the cells. How about the gates? Hah? Rocky: “We have a brain who is gonna get into the SCADA system and exploit its vulnerabilities Snake: Oh.
