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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Before the Bombs

Before bombs may fall, the cyber-warriors may be taking a shot at the Iranians:

 Iranian media reports say 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.

This is the Stuxnet virus I noted recently. The virus has shown up in India, Indonesia, and the U.S. Apparently, the Israelis are the prime suspect.

If this can only buy time, it is worth it. We did something similar during the Cold War, it seems. Although I'd heard it wasn't coding in the equipment but weak materials that did the trick. Who knows, but the point is that sabotage can take many forms that don't involve explosives.

But keep in mind that we could be a target of such attacks, and others that rely on bad code or substandard quality.

UPDATE: More thoughts.