Soft War – the new face of warfare

[Lowell]

It appears the first shot of a cyberwar vs. Iran has been revealed with the discovery of the highly sophisticated Stuxnet virus as seemingly indicated by these stats. It is also believed to be the first worm to target critical industrial infrastructure.

Country- Infected Computers
Iran - 62,867
Indonesia -13,336
India - 6,552
United States - 2,913
Australia - 2,436
Britain - 1,038
Malaysia -1,013
Pakistan - 993
Germany - 15

Weaponized software is has become a reality.

This week the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] National Cyber Security Division [[NCSD) held its ‘Cyber Storm III’, a drill testing the nations’ resilience under a simulated, deliberate international cyber attack aimed at the hubs of government, infrastructure and business.

Maybe, to borrow from TS Eliot, “This is the way the world ends: Not with a bang but a whimper”.

[Gyro]

I'll bet that when the dust settles that it will be the U.S. or Israel that invented it.

[maxx]

This was discussed on NPR's Science Friday today.
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201010016

[Jimaz]

Here's a direct link to the NPR audio: Are 'Stuxnet' Worm Attacks Cyberwarfare?.