Stuxnet

The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort. The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran's computer networks, sending back a steady stream of intelligence to prepare for a cyber­warfare campaign, according to the officials. The...

The secret cyber-sabotage campaign aimed at Iran's nuclear program may have been in existence as early as 2005 and may have been capable of inflicting more damage than previously known, according to a security firm's analysis released Tuesday. The findings, by the security company Symantec , were announced after the discovery of an earlier variant of Stuxnet , as researchers have dubbed the worm reportedly developed by the United States and Israel. The variant, which they have called...

Researchers have identified a sophisticated new computer virus 20 times the size of Stuxnet, the malicious software that disabled centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear plant . But unlike Stuxnet, the new malware appears to be used solely for espionage. Variously dubbed Flame , Skywiper and Flamer, the new virus is the largest and possibly most complex piece of malware ever discovered, which suggests it is state-sponsored, researchers said. It is loaded with functions, but so far none appear to...

Imagine if The Post broke a story about the biggest scandal of the Obama-era — and Washington responded with a collective yawn? That's precisely what happened recently when The Post reported on its front page that senior Obama administration officials were being investigated by the FBI and Justice Department for the leak last summer that the president had personally ordered cyberattacks on the Iranian nuclear program using a computer virus...

TEHRAN — A scientist linked to Iran's nuclear program was killed in his car by a bomb-wielding assailant on Wednesday, a bold rush-hour attack that experts say points to a further escalation in a covert campaign targeting the country's atomic officials and institutions. The precision hit in a northern Tehran neighborhood killed the 32-year-old chemical engineer employed at Iran's main uranium-enrichment facility and brought to four the number of Iranian scientists killed by bombs in the past two...

Federal investigators looking into disclosures of classified information about a cyberoperation that targeted Iran's nuclear program have increased pressure on current and former senior government officials suspected of involvement, according to people familiar with the investigation. The inquiry, which was started by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. last June , is examining leaks about a computer virus developed jointly by the United States and Israel that damaged nuclear...

A damaging cyberattack against Iran's nuclear program was the work of U.S. and Israeli experts and proceeded under the secret orders of President Obama, who was eager to slow that nation's apparent progress toward building an atomic bomb without launching a traditional military attack, say current and former U.S. officials. The origins of the cyberweapon, which outside analysts dubbed Stuxnet after it was inadvertently discovered in 2010, have long been debated, with most experts concluding that the United...

Imagine if The Post broke a story about the biggest scandal of the Obama-era — and Washington responded with a collective yawn? That's precisely what happened recently when The Post reported on its front page that senior Obama administration officials were being investigated by the FBI and Justice Department for the leak last summer that the president had personally ordered cyberattacks on the Iranian nuclear program using a computer virus...

The Pentagon has developed a list of cyber-weapons and -tools, including viruses that can sabotage an adversary's critical networks, to streamline how the United States engages in computer warfare. The classified list of capabilities has been in use for several months and has been approved by other agencies, including the CIA, said military officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive program. The list forms part of the Pentagon's set of approved weapons or...

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Screens glowed, mice clicked and lines of code scrolled on the laptop monitors of a hacker team hired by Barney Advanced Domestic Chemical Co. — or BAD Company — to break into a rival firm's computer network. In another room here at Idaho National Laboratory, a computer operator noticed something wrong. "They're hitting one of our servers!" he said. The lights in the control room soon failed, and liquid gushed from a set of tanks as green and red lights flashed.

Federal investigators looking into disclosures of classified information about a cyberoperation that targeted Iran's nuclear program have increased pressure on current and former senior government officials suspected of involvement, according to people familiar with the investigation. The inquiry, which was started by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. last June , is examining leaks about a computer virus developed jointly by the United States and Israel that damaged nuclear centrifuges at Iran's primary uranium...

DEFENSE SECRETARY Leon Panetta sounded a klaxon in his recent address on cybersecurity . Beyond hackers and criminals who prowl the Internet, Mr. Panetta declared, there is a "greater danger" that nations or violent extremists could cause a cyberattack "as destructive as the terrorist attack on 9/11" or Pearl Harbor, which could "paralyze and shock the nation and create a new, profound sense of vulnerability. " Although it is not at all clear whether a cyberattack could kill thousands of people, the threat of physical...

Blowback is defined as "an unforeseen and unwanted effect, result, or set of repercussions," according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Are some modern military techniques first employed by the United States coming back to haunt us? It would not be the first time. In a speech Thursday on cybersecurity, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta described as "probably the most destructive attack that the private sector has seen to date" the Shamoon computer virus that in August virtually destroyed 30,000 computers...

A WORKSHOP ON cyberwar , sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is scheduled this month in Arlington to discuss "Plan X," which the agency says is designed "to create revolutionary technologies for understanding, planning, and managing cyberwar" and to study "fundamental strategies and tactics needed to dominate the cyber battlespace. " People from industry and academia have been invited; the general public, news media and foreigners have not. DARPA is the Pentagon's...

Flame, the malware related to the infamous Stuxnet that hit Iranian nuclear systems in 2010, may have three sisters in the wild, according to new research by Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky Lab first announced the existence of Flame in May, saying it was deployed around two years prior in 2010, and had already affected thousands of computers. Work may have even started on the malware as early as 2007. It targeted a number of countries in the Middle East, and was called one of the most...

Looks like the Gauss virus is giving researchers at Kaspersky Lab a hard time. The security firm is reaching out to the community for anyone who can help decrypt the malware's payload. "The purpose and functions of the encrypted payload currently remain a mystery," said Aleks Gostev, chief security expert of Kaspersky's global research and analysis team in a statement . "The use of cryptography and the precautions the authors have used to hide this payload indicate its targets are...

Flame — a complex cyberweapon that forced Iran to cut off its Oil Ministry rigs from the Internet — was reportedly written using the same language as games such as Angry Birds. Fox News reports that the virus was written using the computer language LUA, which game programmers like because it's simple and stable. It's also easy to embed, the report said, and Flame's authors may have used the language to make the virus harder to detect. The Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima reported that the virus, also known as...

Blowback is defined as "an unforeseen and unwanted effect, result, or set of repercussions," according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Are some modern military techniques first employed by the United States coming back to haunt us? It would not be the first time. In a speech Thursday on cybersecurity, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta described as "probably the most destructive attack that the private sector has seen to date" the Shamoon computer virus that in August virtually destroyed 30,000 computers...

After announcing the discovery of a new malicious software that targets financial data, researchers have created new, Web-based tools that let anyone check if they've been infected. The new malware, Gauss, shows ties to previous state-sponsored viruses Flame and Stuxnet , but targets financial data. Those viruses were aimed at computers tied to Iran's nuclear program; Gauss is primarily found in Lebanon. Two groups — Russian-based Kaspersky Labs , which first published information on Gauss and Flame, and the ...

Researchers said Thursday that they have identified a new kind of malicious software that appears to be the creation of the same state-sponsored program that produced the viruses known as Stuxnet and Flame . The malware, the researchers said, shares characteristics with the previously identified viruses, which were aimed at computers tied to Iran's nuclear program. But the new software has been found primarily in Lebanon. It is designed to steal information, including customer data from banks as well...