Stuxnet and the Changing Face of Cyberwarfare PDF

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Stuxnet and the Changing Face of Cyberwarfare Case study questions Is cyberwarfare a serious problem? Why or why not? Cyberwarfare is a serious problem. Having a cyber-threat is as serious as or even more serious than having a physical threat. Cyberwarfare can also act as a catalyst and induce an all-out strike of terror on other countries. Just a problem like the Intruders when successfully penetrated the Pentagon’s $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project and stole several terabytes of data related to design and electronics systems, is enough to start a cyberwarfare. Assess the people, organization, and technology factors that have created this problem. People: The users of targeted systems are still too careless about security and do not do enough to protect their systems while the cybercriminals has no shortage nowadays as the technology is getting more and more advance and there is no increase focus on ensuring that policies are in place to prevent cyberwarfare attacks from occurring in an organization until recently. Organization: The organization is more vulnerable and potential physical harm to users and workers becomes a social issue that has to be addressed by the organization. In the case of U.S., they have not a clear policy about how the country would respond to a catastrophic level of cyberattack. Even though the U.S. Congress is considering legislation to toughen cyber security standards, the standards are still insufficient to defend against attacks. Technology: The advancement of technology nowadays has been made that cyberwarfare be more likely to occur because always being available to the public has made Technology has brought the serious issue of cyber-attack and the advancement of technology will only making the situation worse in the future if security is not being done well.

What makes Stuxnet different from other cyberwarfare attacks? How serious a threat is this technology? Stuxnet is not only about attempting to steal information and espionage, Stuxnet is even capable to infect the very well-secured computer systems that follow industry best practices making it nearly impossible to defend. Stuxnet’s mission was to activate only computers that ran Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. One part was designed to lay dormant for long periods, then speed up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges so that they spun wildly out of control. Another secretly recorded what normal operations at the nuclear plant looked like and then played those recordings back to plant operators so it would appear that the centrifuges were operating normally. For those reasons, Stuxnet is a serious threat in technology.

What solutions have been proposed for this problem? Do you think they will be effective? Why or why not?

A proposed solution is Congress is considering legislation that would require all critical infrastructure companies to meet newer, tougher cybersecurity standards. As cyberwarfare technologies develop and become more advanced, the standards imposed by this legislation will likely be insufficient to defend against attacks. The first headquarters designed to coordinate government cyber security efforts, called Cybercom will coordinate the operation and protection of military and Pentagon computer networks. It will coordinate efforts to restrict access to government computers and protect systems that run the stock exchanges, clear global banking transactions, and manage the air traffic control system. As I see, improving infrastructure with security can be effectively in the beginning but remember that nowadays technology keep improving always, so latter, their security system can be mocked....