Stuxnet-based cyber espionage virus targets European firms

This time it's called Duqu.  Why not Dookie?  When the cyber war really heats up, that's what'll be dropping worldwide..   The Telegraph has details..

European firms that play a key role in nuclear power and other critical industries have been targeted by a cyber espionage attack based on Stuxnet, the computer virus that was designed to sabotage the Iranian nuclear programme.

Security engineers say it is likely the new variant, Duqu, was created by the same government agencies thought to be behind Stuxnet, an attack that heralded a new era of state conflict online.

But while Stuxnet was created to cause physical damage to Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities by surreptitiously adjusting machinery, Duqu is an intelligence-gathering tool.

The new virus’ precise targets have not been disclosed, but they include European firms that make the software that controls power stations and other industrial facilities. By infiltrating their computer networks, it aims to steal confidential information and potentially reveal vulnerabilities that could be exploited in later attacks.
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Analysis of Duqu has revealed it may have been in use since December last year. It is programmed to remove itself from infected systems after 36 days, so nobody can be sure how many firms have been targeted or how much confidential data stolen.

Same people responsible, not the same people..  It doesn't matter.  Eventually, the Law of Unintended Consequences will come into play..  Cyber-Boomerang doesn't have the elegance I'm looking for, so I will, instead, allow Lenny Kravitz to interject..

Iran says it has detected second cyber attack

Son of Stuxnet meet the World, World, this is Son of Stuxnet..  From Reuters, via Fark.

Iran has been targeted by a second computer virus in a "cyber war" waged by its enemies, its commander of civil defense said on Monday.

Gholamreza Jalali told the semi-official Mehr news agency that the new virus, called "Stars," was being investigated by experts.

"Fortunately, our young experts have been able to discover this virus and the Stars virus is now in the laboratory for more investigations," Jalali was quoted as saying. He did not specify the target of Stars or its intended impact.

"The particular characteristics of the Stars virus have been discovered," Jalali said. "The virus is congruous and harmonious with the (computer) system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of government organisations."

An observation here..  If Iran continues to stay tight-lipped about what they know regarding Stars, it means either it's having a severe impact on their operating systems, and they're going to let the perpetrators expose themselves by tracking where the leaks originate.  The Cyber War is well underway..

Hey! X Did Equal X!

Israeli cyber unit responsible for Iran computer worm – claim Excerpts in italics:
Computer experts have discovered a biblical reference embedded in the code of the computer worm that has pointed to Israel as the origin of the cyber attack.

The code contains the word "myrtus", which is the Latin biological term for the myrtle tree. The Hebrew word for myrtle, Hadassah, was the birth name of Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia.
In the Bible, The Book of Esther tells how the queen pre-empted an attack on the country's Jewish population and then persuaded her husband to launch an attack before being attacked themselves.

Israel has threatened to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran's facilities to ensure that the Islamic state does not gain the ability to threaten its existence.
Ralf Langner, a German researcher, claims that Unit 8200, the signals intelligence arm of the Israeli defence forces, perpetrated the computer virus attack by infiltrating the software into the Bushehr nuclear power station
Mr Langer said: "If you read the Bible you can make a guess."

Israel threatened an attack, and an attack happened. Wouldn't it be more surprising if Israel didn't do it?

Let X=X

Iran's nuclear agency battles computer worm that can bring down power plants. Excerpts in italics:
Iranian media reports said Friday that the country's nuclear agency is trying to combat a complex computer worm that has affected industrial sites in Iran and is capable of taking over power plants.

The computer virus, which attacks a widely used industrial system, appears aimed mostly at Iran and its sophistication suggests a state may have been involved in creating it, Western cyber security companies said earlier in the day.

This is but the first of many super-cyberweapons. What might the future hold? Entire national infrastructures can all be attacked, all simultaneously. This utter and complete destruction can be mirrored in multiple countries. Battles will be waged along fiber optic tubes and via satellite. "Targeted Destruction" might be en vogue now, but what about the future? Will this different means of warfare lead to new and different tactics? And, lest we forget, each new variation will be more deadly and sophisticated than its predecessor. Global, long-duration chaos could happen almost instantly. And we as a planet may never return to the level of advancement achieved just prior to this technological annihilation, not in our lifetimes.

Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!