06/24/2017

Homework Assignment #2

This is a summary of the transcript for Stuxnet: Computer Worm Opens New Era of

Warfare, a video documentary that aired on 60 Minutes on June 4, 20121. The documentary

discusses the malicious computer worm known as Stuxnet that was responsible for sabotaging

Irans top-secret uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. CBS correspondent Steve Kroft

interviews several prominent cyber experts who explain what Stuxnet was, how it spread, and the

future implications to cybersecurity and cyberwarfare worldwide.

While the origins of Stuxnet are unverified, its speculated to have been created by the

United States and Israel to covertly target supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)

equipment at Irans Natanz facility. Liam OMurchu from antivirus giant Symantec and Ralph

Langner, a German expert on industrial control systems, explain the sophistication of the Stuxnet

code. Stuxnet was designed to specifically target Siemens S7-300 programmable logic

controllers (PLCs), a part of the Natanz SCADA system responsible for controlling the uranium

enrichment centrifuges. The Stuxnet virus would replicate itself and only act if a specific set of

conditions were met, such as being installed into Siemens S7-300 PLCs connected to Iranian

equipment and controlling a specific brand of centrifuge. Stuxnet would falsify sensor data,

bypass security protocols and cause the centrifuges to critically fail (Messick, 2012).

Security experts are concerned the now public Stuxnet code could be modified to target

other types of SCADA equipment for other critical infrastructures (nuclear plants, water

treatment, telecommunications, etc). The United States must now make laws to mandate

privately owned infrastructure companies to implement cybersecurity policies protecting against

similar types of cyberattacks. The release and use of Stuxnet has demonstrated to the world the

effectiveness of using a cyberweapon to cause physical damage and/or disaster (Messick, 2012).
1
Messick, G. (Producer). (2012, June 04). Stuxnet: Computer Worm Opens New Era of Warfare
[Transcript, Television series episode]. In 60 Minutes. New York, New York: Columbia
Broadcasting System. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/stuxnet-computer-worm-
opens-new-era-of-warfare-04-06-2012/