Security Advisor
Cyber Warfare Is Out in the Open
It's been a busy week and a half for nation-created malware. The second big news story was the info that the U.S. and Israel were definitely behind the creation of superworm Stuxnet.
The news comes from a book released this week by Chief Washington Correspondent for The New York Times David E. Sanger in which he alleges the worm's creation was authorized by the Bush administration and its use signed off by Obama.
The worm was supposed to only cause problems for Iranian uranium enrichment plants, but then it accidently got out in the open. It's been theorized that both Flame and Conficker were both created using the source code from Stuxnet.
While the news is certainly interesting, it's not altogether shocking. Due to the complex nature of the malware, security experts have believed that this worm could have only come from four sources: the U.S., Israel, China and Russia. And take into account who may have the rockiest relationship with Iran and it's no surprise.
Frankly, if this is the future of warfare, I welcome it (well, not welcome it, but can live with it). The worm caused damage to some Iranian machines and not a single person lost their lives on either side. I say that's quite an improvement over the tried-and-true practice of dropping bombs until a target's not standing.
How do you see it? Is the use of such malware a smart way of taking out a threat while limiting the collateral damage? Or does this open up a Pandora's Box of issues where terrorists can cause harm wherever they have access to the Internet? Send your thoughts to [email protected]