05.30.15
The Lessons of Stuxnet: Never Use Microsoft Windows
The NSA is playing with nukes
Summary: Windows is sufficiently ‘NSA-compatible’ for remote compromise and physical damage (sabotage) to highly sensitive, high-risk equipment
MANY news reports from around Friday [1-13] made it abundantly clear that Stuxnet, an Israel- and US-made virus that targets Microsoft Windows, was deployed not only in Iran (which uses Windows and Microsoft Linux) but also deployed (albeit unsuccessfully) in North Korea.
It is worth noting that Stuxnet was developed not only in the US but also in Israel and much of Microsoft’s software development for ‘security’ is also done in Israel, so it might not detect Stuxnet (by design).
“Imagine the media reaction if some nation’s government tried to install viruses in nuclear facilities in the US…”News from North Korea should remind any nation with military facilities (that’s about every nation on Earth) to dodge Microsoft Windows. Turkey, for instance, reportedly moved its army to GNU/Linux and several other nations make similar moves for security reasons. In order to explain North Korea’s resistance to the infection some corporation media likes to highlight “near-complete isolation” (see below) rather than reliance on GNU/Linux. The ToryGraph (see below) calls Stuxnet a “computer virus” even through it is uniquely a Microsoft Windows virus. Imagine the media reaction if some nation’s government tried to install viruses in nuclear facilities in the US…
This is by no means defence of North Korea; it’s just that the story makes is abundantly clear that, Microsoft’s special relationship with the NSA aside, Windows is a target. Even Western governments target it. The NSA habitually said that it worried about attacks on its electric grid while hypocritically enough it is attacking nuclear facilities in other countries, never mind the risk of “blowback” or the “fallout” (pun intended) such aggressive actions may consequently bring. Pentagon would label this an “act of [cyber] war”. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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NSA eggheads tried to bork Nork nukes with Stuxnet. It failed – report
The NSA tried to wreck North Korea’s nuclear weapons lab using the centrifuge-knackering malware Stuxnet, and ultimately failed, multiple intelligence sources claim.
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Pyongyang 1, NSA 0: U.S. Tried and Failed to Hack North Korea’s Nuclear Infrastructure
By almost completely shutting itself off from the rest of the world, the North Korean government has denied its people and society access to the fruits of the digital communications revolution. It has also reportedly helped stymie a U.S. cyberattack on the country’s nuclear infrastructure modeled on the so-called Stuxnet virus the United States and Israel used against Iranian centrifuges.
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The NSA reportedly tried — but failed — to use a Stuxnet variant against North Korea
Right around the time that the Stuxnet attack so famously sabotaged Iran’s nuclear program in 2009 and 2010, the U.S. National Security Agency reportedly was trying something similar against North Korea.
The NSA-led U.S. effort used a version of the Stuxnet virus designed to be activated by Korean-language computer settings, but it ultimately failed to sabotage North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, according to a Friday Reuters report, which attributed the information to people familiar with the campaign.
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NSA tried Stuxnet cyber-attack on North Korea five years ago but failed
The US tried to deploy a version of the Stuxnet computer virus to attack North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme five years ago but ultimately failed, according to people familiar with the covert campaign.
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Report: US tried Stuxnet variant on N. Korean nuke program, failed
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US tried to bring down North Korean missile programme with computer virus
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Report: U.S. failed to sabotage North Korean nuclear program with Stuxnet-twin
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Report: US cyberattack on North Korea was ineffective
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Why Did a US Cyber Attack on North Korea Fail?
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US Tried, Failed To Sabotage North Korea Nuclear Weapons Program With Stuxnet-Style Cyber Attack
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US Reportedly Launched Stuxnet Attack Against North Korea
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US Failed at Planting Stuxnet-Style Computer Bug in N. Korea Nuke Program
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US reportedly tried to destroy North Korea’s nuclear program with a Stuxnet-type virus
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