Quote:
Originally Posted by 35NCO
The genie problem is that the code for how it was done is now into the wild to be reverse engineered for a long time to come. It wont be long before we see it here gentlemen. I can promise someone will be hitting us very soon in such a manner. The ONLY thing that stops this currently is strategic timing of the attack. For some reason it is not useful now to our adversary's otherwise it would have already happened. Perhaps they are having too much enjoyment in watching our current political failures.
Whats about to happen will be the new nuclear arms race of our very near new future. Once there is a strike, it will be an act of war. Then the whole internet will explode with counter strikes. Its only takes one good hit to create the tipping point that spirals it all into oblivion. I strongly disagree with the author. I do not believe the code getting out in to the wild was intentional. If it was, it very well may have been the most dangerous leadership decision in warfare for generations to come and to those that may not longer exist.  |
The arms race has been on for years and only MAD keeps things in line. The subtext in the article is spot-on: Stuxnet demonstrates "do not mess with us because we can do worse to you." We are not being attacked by Iran, say, because their infrastructure would be laid waste in hours by a retaliatory SCADA attack and they know it. We are far ahead of the rest of the world in this arena.
Stuxnet is remarkable only because of it's sophistication and subtly. The first-phase attack was like re-setting 10,000 wristwatches to be seconds off without anyone noticing. And they're in a guarded room. And you do it several time per day. A SCADA infrastructure attack would be as subtle as smashing the wristwatches with a sledgehammer.
My bet for the first (MSM-publicized) attack involving fatalities: some script-kiddie malcontent out to go down in flames. If you're the first one to sell a tee-shirt with him wearing a Che beret you'll be able to retire in a week.