A worm (virus) that was designed to attack Siemens programmable logic controllers (see
PLC) and Windows-based industrial software. First identified in 2009, Stuxnet infections were found in Iran, Indonesia, India and other countries with an estimated 100,000 computers infected. Most widely reported was Iran's nuclear generation program, which was damaged when Stuxnet caused some of its centrifuges to run too fast. However, within a year, Iran was running even more centrifuges.
Under the covert operation known as Olympic Games, the U.S. and Israel are widely believed to be the creators of the Stuxnet code. To date, neither country has claimed responsibility. See
Flame virus,
worm and
SCADA attack.