A computer worm discovered in June 2012 revealed to the world the potential of Cyber warfare.
Moving from spying to sabotaging autonomous industries systems STUXNET was designed specifically to utilize vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows to target Siemens Software and Equipment running a Uranium Enrichment Facility in Iran.
STUXNET was designed to target SIEMENS software and Equipment, the designers of the software knew what hardware and software the malware would bo looking to destroy. The malware SUXNET was abble to inflict a sizeable blow to the nuclear program of Iran, sizeable enough that Iran publically had to admit that its system had been hit.
Experts at Kespersky Lab claim that FLAME has a lot of resemblance with STUXNET and they deploy the same method of spreading which is generally by infecting and utilizing USB’s and Local Networks; in fact it is highly likely that t was developed by the same team which developed STUXNET and is being utilized the same country that launched STUXNET.
In short dismantling a country’s nuclear program by utilizing FLAME or STUXNET would be more feasible in comparison to talking out a countries nuclear program with a full scale military strike.
Pakistan Cyber users need to be aware of this ever evloving threat, althought FLAME wasreported to have been targeting Middle Eastern countries it is highly likely that computers in Pakistan might also be infected.
There is also high possibility that this Malware might have already infected our military and industrial network because we do not have any mechanisms, labs to asses these kinds of threats.
As Pakistan is the only Muslim Nuclear county in the world and it is the need of time that authorities and individuals in Pakistan start considering this form of warfare as a threat and respond to it in an appropriate manner.
