[ISN] Iran was prime target of SCADA worm

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179618/Iran_was_prime_target_of_SCADA_worm

By Robert McMillan
IDG News Service
July 23, 2010

Computers in Iran have been hardest hit by a dangerous computer worm 
that tries to steal information from industrial control systems.

According to data compiled by Symantec, nearly 60 percent of all systems 
infected by the worm are located in Iran. Indonesia and India have also 
been hard-hit by the malicious software, known as Stuxnet.

Looking at the dates on digital signatures generated by the worm, the 
malicious software may have been in circulation since as long ago as 
January, said Elias Levy, senior technical director with Symantec 
Security Response.

Stuxnet was discovered last month by VirusBlokAda, a Belarus-based 
antivirus company that said it found the software on a system belonging 
to an Iranian customer. The worm seeks out Siemens SCADA (supervisory 
control and data acquisition) management systems, used in large 
manufacturing and utility plants, and tries to upload industrial secrets 
to the Internet.

Symantec isn't sure why Iran and the other countries are reporting so 
many infections. "The most we can say is whoever developed these 
particular threats was targeting companies in those geographic areas," 
Levy said.

[...]


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