Stuxnet

Stuxnet, often referred to as the ancestor of cyber weapons, was the first known example of a worm that was capable of causing physical damage on an industrial scale. Stuxnet changed the concept of cyber attacks as we know it today.

Stuxnet made use of a very sophisticated architecture and infiltration techniques that have made it a cutting edge in the field of cyber warfare.

Stuxnet was initially discovered in the summer of 2010 by VirusBlokAda, a small security company based in Belarus. The VirusBlokAda team initially identified the malware after being contacted by an Iranian customer who reported having problems with his computers rebooting abnormally.

When analysts looked into the case, they discovered that the problem was caused by a rootkit, a type of malware designed to remain hidden on the infected system.

However, it wasn’t until early July 2010 that the scope and complexity of Stuxnet became clear to the world. Security analysts at Symantec, one of the world’s largest security companies in the world, began investigating the malware after noticing a significant increase in the number of incidents.

Stuxnet was designed with the specific goal of sabotaging an Iranian uranium enrichment program by interfering with the programmable controllers used in its nuclear power plants. Its purpose was to physically destroy industrial machinery.