stuxnet | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Stuxnet case is considered by security expert the first concrete act of cyber warfare, a malware specifically designed to hit SCADA systems inside nuclear plants in Iran. The event has alerted the international security community on the risks related to the effects of a cyber attack against supervisory control and data acquisition in industrial environment.  SCADA systems are adopted practically in every industrial control system (ICS) used for the control and monitor of industrial processes that are potential targets of a cyber attack such as a critical infrastructures or a utility facilities. Manufacturing, production, power generation, water treatment facilities, electrical power transmission and distribution and large communication systems are all considered critical asset for every countries and represent privileged targets for cyber attacks. Obtain access to SCADA systems is fundamental step for a attackers that desires to compromise the controlled processes and contrary...

Symantec recently identified a database-corrupting piece of malware targeting systems mostly in Iran, but despite early speculation that it could be related to the likes of Stuxnet and Flame, it appears to be targeting small businesses rather than the country's infrastructure. Malware Dubbed W32.Narilam , is predominantly active in the Middle East, and it has also been detected in the USA and UK. The worm looks for particular words in Microsoft SQL databases and overwrites them. The worm specifically targets SQL databases with three distinct names, alim, maliran, and shahd. Once the targeted databases are found, Narilam looks for specific objects and tables and either deletes the tables or replaces items with random values. On Monday an alert was published on tarrahsystem.com warning of the W32.Narilam threat to its customers. The bulk of the infections thus far have been found in the Middle East, particularly Iran and Afghanistan. Kaspersky Lab took issue ...

Every week seems to bring news of another data breach, and it's no surprise why: securing sensitive data has become harder than ever. And it's not just because companies are dealing with orders of magnitude more data. Data flows and user roles are constantly shifting, and data is stored across multiple technologies and cloud environments. Not to mention, compliance requirements are only getting stricter and more elaborate.  The problem is that while the data landscape has evolved rapidly, the usual strategies for securing that data are stuck in the past. Gone are the days when data lived in predictable places, with access controlled by a chosen few. Today, practically every department in the business needs to use customer data, and AI adoption means huge datasets, and a constant flux of permissions, use cases, and tools. Security teams are struggling to implement effective strategies for securing sensitive data, and a new crop of tools, called data security platforms, have appear...

Stuxnet , a sophisticated computer virus created by the United States and Israel, to spy on and attack Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz also infected Chevron 's network in 2010, immediately after it spread into the wild. This Government created virus Now Infecting Corporations also. Chevron oil giant found the virus in its systems after the malware' s existence was first reported in a blog post in July 2010, according to Mark Koelmel, general manager of the earth-sciences department at the big U.S. oil company. The U.S. government has never officially acknowledged the Stuxnet program. Stuxnet  which was designed to attack computer systems designed by German industrial giant Siemens for managing water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other critical infrastructure has turned up in other countries. According to the Wall Street Journal, Chevron's experience with Stuxnet appears to be the result of the malware's unintentional release into...

The Israeli military has set plans to boost its cyber warfare capabilities with a better Cyber Army by expand its Unit 8200. " It has become clear that the demand for soldiers in this field is growing, which is why we're searching for solutions not only in Israel but abroad as well ," a top officer in the Manpower Directorate. Unit 8200, Israel's equivalent to the NSA, is undergoing a massive expansion. The U.S. Army ad slogan may be: " The Army needs a few good men ." But IDF Unit 8200′s slogan is: " The IDF needs a few good hackers ." Actually not a few, more like hundreds if not thousands. The disclosure comes amid recent reports that the Israeli army is working to enhance its cyber-warfare abilities. Military intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi is slated to invest 2 billion shekels (525 million U.S. dollars) to that end in the coming years. " The military officials are tasked to track "young computer geniuses" and persuade them to immigrate to Israel for...

Network security is on everyone's mind as 2010 comes to an end. Adam Powers, CTO of Atlanta-based Lancope, offers insights into expected trends for 2011. IT Consumerization and Internal Threats The introduction of consumer devices into corporate networks is reshaping security strategies. Traditional perimeter defenses like firewalls and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) are no longer sufficient. Companies must address security for smartphones, MiFi devices, and other consumer mobile devices. Rise of Social Media The growth of social media platforms like Facebook has created new attack surfaces for cyber threats. This development demands heightened awareness and security measures. Utilities as Targets The Stuxnet virus has alerted utilities, particularly those under NERC-CIP compliance, to the need for improved security as SCADA systems transition to IP. This shift demands a significant upgrade in security measures. Information Leakage and Reputation Damage The Wiki...

The increasing threats of cyberwar are keeping U.S. officials busy alongside ongoing wars on terror and drugs. Recent incidents highlight the rising cyberwarfare concerns: Google reported espionage attacks originating from China, mysterious Internet traffic activities related to China, the Stuxnet worm targeting Iranian nuclear centrifuges, an attack on the WikiLeaks site following the release of classified U.S. documents, and the significant Internet attack on Estonia a few years ago. To address these cyber threats, the U.S. has adopted military strategies for cybersecurity, establishing Cyber Command and placing national cybersecurity under the Department of Defense. However, relying solely on offensive strategies is not the best defense. Gary McGraw, CTO at Cigital and author, argues that more secure software, rather than cyber warriors, is essential to protect networks and online data. In his article, "Cyber Warmongering and Influence Peddling," McGraw emphasizes the nee...

According to a report from Sky News, the Stuxnet worm has already been traded on the black market. The report does not specify whether this refers to the source code or binary samples. British security specialists now fear that terrorists could use the worm to attack critical infrastructure. The report quotes an IT security consultant to the UK government as saying, "You could shut down power stations, you could shut down the transport network across the United Kingdom." There is hard evidence that Stuxnet is in the hands of highly motivated, well-trained, and well-financed criminals. Sky News' source declined to provide more precise information. Audun Lødemel, VP of Marketing and Business Development at German IT service provider Norman, believes that "It was just a matter of time before the Stuxnet code was made available for anyone, with even the most basic knowledge of coding, to alter and potentially wreak havoc on the UK infrastructure. This is serious stuff,...