Analyst's note:  Siemans' is said to be offering a anti-virus for Stuxnet - a newly discovered "cyber missile."  Stuxnet spreads through previously unknown holes in the Microsoft Windows operating system. Some experts believe this malicious software is targeted at Iran's nuclear operations.  It is being reported that Stuxnet is targeting certain supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software used to run chemical plants and factories as well as electric power plants and transmission systems worldwide.

The reality is that these SCADA systems were never designed for cybersecurity in mind and today they are being openly connected to the outside world even though many vendors are advising against this level of connectivity,

This story is about a "military-grade, cyber missile" known to be aimed at destroying an industrial process.  This malware first surfaced in June 2010, reported in July 2010 and has been investigated ever since.  It goes by the name of Stuxnet and has infected at least 45,000 industrial control systems around the world.  Although it includes computers in the United States, Germany and Canada, most computers are said to be in Iran, Pakistan, India, and Indonesia. 

It is tough trying to describe something that was once thought to be impossible -- something that has at least 5,000 functions (only one is presently understood) and multiple investigating organizations have no idea what it is after.  The ultimate suspected target is Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. 

Yeeee Haaaaaa!!! This malware needs no human intervention other than to insert an infected USB drive.  It apparently uses "fingerprinting" as a part of the assured targeting process which is intended to destroy rather than to manipulate data or steal it.  If your system doesn't fit the fingerprint it is looking for, then Stuxnet leaves you alone.  Otherwise some vital system is overridden or shut down and something physically really bad happens within the industrial process -- say a nuclear power plant --  to physically destroy it.

Once infected, it polls every five seconds and destroys only if specific parameters or "fingerprints" are met.  Investigators have reason to believe that Stuxnet (with at least one known variant) was likely spread by a thumb drive used by a Russian contractor while building the Bushehr nuclear plant. 

I especially liked the premise of a recent Washington Post article,  On Red Alert and Perilously Uniformed by David Ignatius.  This stunning new situation we are addressing here regarding Stuxnet should cause the U.S. to step up efforts to define cyberwarfare and its impact on the laws of war as well as to protect the supply chains of our critical industries.  We might even find the nerve to face the hideous enemy that is the jihadist.  They will eventually learn to use such a weapon as Stuxnet and we'd best be prepared sooner than later. 

I also recommend an internal search on this site (CSIA Report) on the term "SCADA"  Here is but an summary of the article.  Please click on the title and carefully read the full item.

A piece of highly sophisticated malicious software that has infected an unknown number of power plants, pipelines and factories over the past year is the first program designed to cause serious damage in the physical world, security experts are warning.

Stuxnet can hide itself, wait for certain conditions and give new orders to the components that reverse what they would normally do, the experts said. The commands are so specific that they appear aimed at an industrial sector, but officials do not know which one or what the affected equipment would do.

[....] Experts [....]  suggest that it is most likely associated with a national government and that terrorism, ideological motivation or even extortion cannot be ruled out.