The
Obama administration warned U.S. companies about a computer virus
infects unusually potent than the oil industry in Iran even though
suspicions persist that the U.S. is responsible for creating and
unleashing secret cyberweapons against foreign countries.The
dual role of government to alert U.S. companies about these threats and
the production of powerful weapons and listening software tools
emphasize the risks of unwanted boomerang, online.Unlike
a bullet or a missile fired at an enemy, a cyberweapon that spreads via
the Internet can be recirculated by accident to infect computers should
never be put. One of the challenges faced by programmers unusual build such weapons, and the presidents who must decide when to start.The
warning from the Department of Homeland Security on the new virus,
known as "Flame" said U.S. companies that no infection had been
discovered so far within the U.S. We
describe the flame as an espionage tool that was sophisticated in
design, using encryption and other techniques to help get into computers
and move through corporate networks or private. The virus can hear the traffic data, take screenshots and record audio and keystrokes. The department said that the origin is a mystery.
The White House has refused to talk about the virus.
But suspicions about the role of U.S. government in the use of cyberweapons have increased by a report in The New York Times on Friday. Based on anonymous sources, said President Barack Obama had secretly ordered the use of other sophisticated cyberweapon, known as Stuxnet, to attack computer systems that run major Iranian facilities to enrich uranium. The order was an extension of a program of sabotage, the Times said that began during the Bush administration.Private security researchers have long suspected that the governments of the United States and Israel were responsible for Stuxnet. But the newspaper's description of the talks in the Oval Office between Obama, Vice President and Director of the CIA about the responsibility of the U.S. government for Stuxnet is the most direct evidence of this date. U.S. officials rarely discuss the use of cyberweapons outside the classified environments.Stuxnet is believed to have been released as early as 2009. It was discovered in June 2010 by a Belarusian antivirus researcher infected computer analysis of a customer in Iran. It was addressed to the electronic program controllers built by Siemens AG of Germany who settled in Iran. The U.S. government also distributed warnings to U.S. companies on Stuxnet after being detected.The White House said Friday he would not discuss whether the U.S. was responsible for attacks against Iran Stuxnet."I am not able to comment on any of the details or details," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "That information is classified for a reason, and is kept secret. It is intended to be withheld, because they know that would threaten our national security."Cyberweapons are uncharted territory because the U.S. laws are ambiguous about their use, and questions about its effectiveness and reliability are mostly unresolved. Attackers can hide their online sources or even impersonate an innocent organization, making it difficult to identify the real objectives in responding to attacks.Viruses and malicious software known as malware, vulnerabilities are based on commercial software and hardware products. However, it is difficult to design a single charge that will always be successful because the target may have fixed a vulnerability in software or equipment located behind a firewall.On the Internet, where it connects is a virtue, an attack aimed at a target can spread unexpectedly. Whether one can cyberweapon boomerang depends on its prior art, according to security experts. In this regard, there are deep divisions over the flame.Russian security vendor Kaspersky Lab digital, which first identified the virus, said the complexity of the flame and the feature "exceed those of all other known cybermenaces to date." No doubt, the company said that a government sponsored research to be developed. However, remains unknown author called because there is no information in the virus code to link him to a particular country.
Other experts said it was not so scary.
Much of the code used to create the virus is old and is available online, said Becky Bace, chief strategist at the Center for Forensic Technology and Information Security at the University of South Alabama. Calls could have been developed by a small team of smart people who are motivated and have the financial backing, he said, so it is just as likely a criminal enterprise or group work as substitutes could have been responsible."Here is the call of attention regarding cybercrime: You do not have to be a nation-state to have what is needed to assemble a threat at this level of sophistication in particular," said Bace, who spent 12 years in National Security Agency working in intrusion detection and network security. "There is no secret ingredient here."
Stuxnet was much more complex.
However, Stuxnet could not have worked without detailed intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, which was obtained through conventional art of espionage, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, a digital security company in Helsinki, Finland . The countries with the motivation and the means to collect such data is the United States and Israel, he said."This is at the level of complexity that very few organizations in the world even try," said Hypponen, who has studied Stuxnet and flame. "Basically you have to have moles. Most of what they needed to pull this off was probably collected what may be characterized as traditional intelligence work."The more intricate design of a cyberweapon is less likely to boomerang. Stuxnet spread far beyond computer networks Iranians intend to hit. But the collateral damage is minimal because the virus was developed to pursue particular objectives."When some of these extended super sophisticated things, is bad, but can not have the same impact because the virus itself is so complex," said Jacob Olcott, an expert in senior cyber security Good Harbor Consulting. "It is designed to have its impact when it meets certain conditions."Israel is a world leader in cyber technology and senior Israeli officials did little to deflect suspicion on the participation of that country in cyberweapons. "He who sees the Iranian threat as a significant threat is likely to have several steps, including the following, to hinder," said Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon, former military chief and minister of strategic affairs.A senior defense official involved in Israel's program of cyberwarfare, said Friday that "Israel is investing heavily in the units that deal with cyber warfare, both defense and offense." He did not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Isaac Ben-Israel, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on cybersecurity issues, refused on Friday to say whether Israel was involved with Stuxnet.It could take years to know who is responsible, which is what is so disturbing about the attacks in cyberspace. "We are very well as an industry to find out what a piece of malware is," said Dave Marcus, director of advanced research and threat intelligence in digital security giant McAfee. "However, they are less accurate when it comes to saying what the group is responsible for it, or was that country or that organization."
But suspicions about the role of U.S. government in the use of cyberweapons have increased by a report in The New York Times on Friday. Based on anonymous sources, said President Barack Obama had secretly ordered the use of other sophisticated cyberweapon, known as Stuxnet, to attack computer systems that run major Iranian facilities to enrich uranium. The order was an extension of a program of sabotage, the Times said that began during the Bush administration.Private security researchers have long suspected that the governments of the United States and Israel were responsible for Stuxnet. But the newspaper's description of the talks in the Oval Office between Obama, Vice President and Director of the CIA about the responsibility of the U.S. government for Stuxnet is the most direct evidence of this date. U.S. officials rarely discuss the use of cyberweapons outside the classified environments.Stuxnet is believed to have been released as early as 2009. It was discovered in June 2010 by a Belarusian antivirus researcher infected computer analysis of a customer in Iran. It was addressed to the electronic program controllers built by Siemens AG of Germany who settled in Iran. The U.S. government also distributed warnings to U.S. companies on Stuxnet after being detected.The White House said Friday he would not discuss whether the U.S. was responsible for attacks against Iran Stuxnet."I am not able to comment on any of the details or details," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "That information is classified for a reason, and is kept secret. It is intended to be withheld, because they know that would threaten our national security."Cyberweapons are uncharted territory because the U.S. laws are ambiguous about their use, and questions about its effectiveness and reliability are mostly unresolved. Attackers can hide their online sources or even impersonate an innocent organization, making it difficult to identify the real objectives in responding to attacks.Viruses and malicious software known as malware, vulnerabilities are based on commercial software and hardware products. However, it is difficult to design a single charge that will always be successful because the target may have fixed a vulnerability in software or equipment located behind a firewall.On the Internet, where it connects is a virtue, an attack aimed at a target can spread unexpectedly. Whether one can cyberweapon boomerang depends on its prior art, according to security experts. In this regard, there are deep divisions over the flame.Russian security vendor Kaspersky Lab digital, which first identified the virus, said the complexity of the flame and the feature "exceed those of all other known cybermenaces to date." No doubt, the company said that a government sponsored research to be developed. However, remains unknown author called because there is no information in the virus code to link him to a particular country.
Other experts said it was not so scary.
Much of the code used to create the virus is old and is available online, said Becky Bace, chief strategist at the Center for Forensic Technology and Information Security at the University of South Alabama. Calls could have been developed by a small team of smart people who are motivated and have the financial backing, he said, so it is just as likely a criminal enterprise or group work as substitutes could have been responsible."Here is the call of attention regarding cybercrime: You do not have to be a nation-state to have what is needed to assemble a threat at this level of sophistication in particular," said Bace, who spent 12 years in National Security Agency working in intrusion detection and network security. "There is no secret ingredient here."
Stuxnet was much more complex.
However, Stuxnet could not have worked without detailed intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, which was obtained through conventional art of espionage, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, a digital security company in Helsinki, Finland . The countries with the motivation and the means to collect such data is the United States and Israel, he said."This is at the level of complexity that very few organizations in the world even try," said Hypponen, who has studied Stuxnet and flame. "Basically you have to have moles. Most of what they needed to pull this off was probably collected what may be characterized as traditional intelligence work."The more intricate design of a cyberweapon is less likely to boomerang. Stuxnet spread far beyond computer networks Iranians intend to hit. But the collateral damage is minimal because the virus was developed to pursue particular objectives."When some of these extended super sophisticated things, is bad, but can not have the same impact because the virus itself is so complex," said Jacob Olcott, an expert in senior cyber security Good Harbor Consulting. "It is designed to have its impact when it meets certain conditions."Israel is a world leader in cyber technology and senior Israeli officials did little to deflect suspicion on the participation of that country in cyberweapons. "He who sees the Iranian threat as a significant threat is likely to have several steps, including the following, to hinder," said Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon, former military chief and minister of strategic affairs.A senior defense official involved in Israel's program of cyberwarfare, said Friday that "Israel is investing heavily in the units that deal with cyber warfare, both defense and offense." He did not elaborate. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Isaac Ben-Israel, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on cybersecurity issues, refused on Friday to say whether Israel was involved with Stuxnet.It could take years to know who is responsible, which is what is so disturbing about the attacks in cyberspace. "We are very well as an industry to find out what a piece of malware is," said Dave Marcus, director of advanced research and threat intelligence in digital security giant McAfee. "However, they are less accurate when it comes to saying what the group is responsible for it, or was that country or that organization."
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