Stuxnet

The computer worm that sabotaged Iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges

Overview

Stuxnet, uncovered by security researchers in 2010, was sophisticated malware designed to manipulate Siemens industrial control systems at the Natanz enrichment plant in Iran, making centrifuges spin out of tolerance while showing operators normal readings. It spread through infected USB drives and exploited several previously unknown Windows vulnerabilities, escaping into the wider world where researchers dissected it. Reporting widely attributes it to a joint American and Israeli effort code named Olympic Games, though neither government has officially confirmed this. It is often described as the first known cyberweapon to cause physical destruction.