What actually happens in a war? We tend to destroy airports, bridges, refineries, power plants, nuclear plants etc. These are basics for the economy of any country. How much do we spend in war? billions of dollars!
Stuxnet- a Malware, exploited many vulnerabilities of SCADA system, and destroyed Iran's nuclear power plant. It sent Iran's nuclear power plant 6-7 years behind. All this was done without any socio-economic disturbance. No war fought. No loss of lives. SCADA systems are used in nuclear power plants, refineries and other industries where PLCs (programmable Logic Controllers) are used. Manufacturer of this kind of system are Siemens, Honeywell, ABB etc.
Such a huge impact of Stuxnet is not a matter of chance. Stuxnet must be made carefully for this purpose. Huge investment might have gone in Stuxnet too.
Looking at the impact and cost of Stuxnet, it would be it's insult if we call Stuxnet a Malware- It's actually the first CYBER WEAPON in the world. Much like what we have seen in sci-fi movies. Now, computing is turned into all this. It is really difficult to say anything about computing 5-10 years down the line.
Anyway, the first cyber weapon is arrived-- The Stuxnet!! Let's be careful and ready for the battle ahead!!
Good one.
Really surprising to know this capability of Stuxnet...
Precaution to be taken
Excellent information :)