'New Stuxnet' worm targets companies in Europe

[Celefin]

Source: Guardian

A highly sophisticated computer worm which has many of the same characteristics of the virus used to attack Iran's nuclear programme has been discovered targeting companies in Europe.

Although the virus appears to have been spying on the systems it infiltrates - rather than attempting to vandalise them - experts say its code is so similar to the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran, that it may have been engineered by the same people.

Symantec would not disclose which firms had been targeted, but the company said one of its customers raised the alarm on Friday. An internal system at the firm "raised a number of red flags" and an investigation was launched.

"The majority of the code is consistent with the Stuxnet code," said a spokesman for Symantec. "So this new worm either came from the authors of Stuxnet, or someone was given access to the Stuxnet source codes."



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/19/stuxnet-worm-europe-duqu

---

Quite a bit more at the link. It is suspected that this version was designed for intelligence gathering on industrial systems to be able to engineer the next version towards taking out a single specific target. The other main worry is that the stuxnet sourcecode is out there somewhere and might make it into 'mainstream' malware.

[valerief]

1. One way to get rid of trillions of dollars of debt. Invent a worm and go, "Oops!"

Just kidding.

I wonder what kind of damage is planned.

[dipsydoodle]

2. News Technology Worms 'New Stuxnet' worm targets companies in Europe

Source: The Guardian

A highly sophisticated computer worm which has many of the same characteristics of the virus used to attack Iran's nuclear programme has been discovered targeting companies in Europe.

Although the virus appears to have been spying on the systems it infiltrates - rather than attempting to vandalise them - experts say its code is so similar to the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran, that it may have been engineered by the same people.

The US and Israel were widely thought to be behind Stuxnet, which sent many of the centrifigues at Tehran's nuclear facilities spinning out of control. It took this kind of cyberwarfare to a new level.

The new virus was discovered by Symantec, a leading cybersecurity firm, and has been called Duqu.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/19/stuxnet-worm-europe-duqu