Technology

Stuxnet proves critical infrastructure must be resilient

Government Computer News reports that the \"new normal\" is attacks on infrastructure, as with the Stuxnet worm.

Federal News Network Staff

January 24, 2011 3:39 pm

< a min read

Critical infrastructures are made to be resilient. But now when cyber war is a reality, resiliency is more then just a strategic benefit — It is a necessity.

Government Computer News reports that the Stuxnet worm proved that the critical infrastructure is now at risk.

The worm is widely believed to have been intended to disrupt Iran’s uranium enrichment program and also produced 60,000 other infections around the world.

But there is some good news — Stuxnet proved that in order to infiltrate critical infrastructures it takes time and expensive and regulated hardware.

Nobody pretends to know what Stuxnet cost to develop, but it was not a trivial exercise, and the attackers will have to consider the return on investment before unleashing it.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update brought to you by Tripwire. For more cybersecurity news, click here.