Stuxnet

 

Remember we said in the introduction that the damage caused by viruses included damaging an entire country’s nuclear program? Well, that was Stuxnet. Believed to be a joint US/Israeli cyberweapon, though neither country has openly admitted responsibility, Stuxnet was first discovered in 2010. The purpose of the virus was said to be to interfere with Iran’s attempts to build a nuclear weapon. It was spread by a USB thumb drive and targeted software that controlled a uranium facility in Iran. According to a report published in the New York Times, the damage it caused was so great it made 1,000 centrifuges self-destruct. The Times reported that it was a ‘programming error’ that allowed Stuxnet to escape the facility in Iran and spread around the world on the internet. It was said to be part of a wider US effort, called Olympic Games, to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.