Cyber-security experts
call it a super bomb

Fox
News is reporting that the world’s most sophisticated computer worm may
have been used to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. The “cyber bomb” targets the software which
operates nuclear power plants and orders the plant to self-destruct.

Hemanshu Nigam, head of
online safety consulting firm SSP Blue, appeared on Fox today saying researchers
have found out that the cyber attack has apparently been unleashed on Iran’s
nuclear facilities. Nigam, says that the
cyber bomb works to cause nuclear plants to self-destruct while not causing any
loss of human life or other collateral damage.
Mr. Nigam believes that his component of the cyber bomb indicates that
the attack is sponsored by what he calls a “Nation state.” Speculation is that Israel, China or even the
United States may be behind the attack.

However, Nigam also warns
that this should be a call to the White House to shore up domestic cyber security
to prevent attacks against U.S. infrastructure.

While it appears the worm
was designed specifically to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities, Nigam warns
that if it can work against the Iran’s nuclear plants, it can work against any
nuclear facility.

According to Fox, “The ‘Stuxnet’ worm sparked both awe and alarm among
digital security experts when first identified in June. Far more advanced than
the mainstream malware often used for identity theft, Stuxnet is reportedly
able to take over a computing system via nothing more than a USB memory stick,
without any user intervention.

“’This is the first direct example of weaponized software, highly customized
and designed to find a particular target,’ said Michael Assante, former chief
of industrial control systems cyber security research at the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory.

Sanjay Bavisi, president of the international cyber security research group EC-Council,
says “We’re looking at a new era of weaponized cyber attacks. This is only the
beginning of this thing.”

Cyber attacks and Cyber Warfare are capable of shutting nuclear facilities,
power grids, air traffic control and other major infrastructure in developed
nations.

No word on the actual
damage done to the Iranian nuclear facilities located in Natanz and Bushehr.

For more information on
cyber security visit The U.S. House Cyber Security Caucus website HERE. The U.S. House Cyber Security Caucus is
co-chaired by Congressman Michael McCaul of the Texas 10^th
Congressional District.

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About John G. Winder

John G. Winder has spent 29 years in the broadcasting industry as an on-air report, General Manager and Executive in both radio & television.

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