Stuxnet malware threatens multiple industries

Security experts from the Sans Institute has said they have found multiple instances of Stuxnet-like malware tailored to attack specific industrial systems.

The discovery of the Stuxnet worm shook the industry after it emerged that the malware contained code designed to modify programmable logic controllers in the frequency converter drives mainly used to control motors in uranium enrichment facilities.

Sans Institute member Eric Cole, who chairs the US president's cybersecurity commission and has some 20 years' industry experience, said he has witnessed four similar attacks targeted at specific industries. "I know of a recent case where four companies within the manufacturing sector were targeted by one of many [zero-day] attacks," Cole said. "From the forensic evidence, it seems the attackers were after some particular intellectual property and were well organised and methodical."

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Stuxnet just the tip of the iceberg on ZDNet Australia.