This is not your typical computer virus, it effects industrial controllers made by Siemans. It's spread (No Surprise there) by placing an infected USB stick into a Microsoft Windows (TM) computer which is used to program the industrial contoller(PLC - Programmable Logic Controller). Anyone using Microsoft Windows (TM) in mission critical applications such as a nuclear power station gets everything they deserve, hell I don't even use it to play games it's that insecure.

I think you'll find most sane banks will be running a Linux/Unix back-end in which something like this is impossible to happen, so you can sleep sound with your money in the bank!

If you know your bank uses Microsoft Windows (TM), then maybe you should consider changing banks! I won't even deal with a company that stores my personal information on a Microsoft Windows (TM) machine. If I have to deal with them, I don't give them anything I don't want someone else to know!

It's a pox and anyone playing with it will get the pox one day, that you can be 100% certain of!

Thinker2; what puzzles the experts is that is could have been specifically designed just to attack industrial computers, eg the Iranian Reactors, but they designed it to spread into the wider commuity.They say it is able to mutate.If so,how do they then ensure it's original purpose remains intact?

Rawmustard says it will only affect Windows(TM)so most banks are OK.It is very unusual for a pro-Israeli News paper like the NY Times writing such a damning story heavily implicating Israel.

lol Knew it was Arjay from the title.

Needs Freemasons though, I'm with TRTL on that one.

Stg Not even your Free Masons could conjure this one up.You have to stop talking about conspiracy theories because this is reality.You are getting delusional.

Just did some more research about Stuxnet.Stuxnet is now history.The real worry for them is that hackers have a new generation of virus which they can now build on that is undetectable by our anti-virus programs.So this is just the beginning of problems for us.Symantec will just be able to charge us more for our next generation of Norton anti-virus.

I wouldn't be at all surprised, Arjay.

>>The sophistocation of this virus according to computer experts points to Govt creation and this case the evidence is pointing to Israel<<

If I was looking at ways to protect the country from Iranian nuclear warfare, I'd use malware as one of my defence mechanisms too. Nothing like a bit of industrial disruption, good for the ego.

But your understanding of Stuxnet and malware in general leads you into some rather silly places.

>>The virus has proliferated mainly in the Iranian nuclear facilities,but now is spreading around the planet<<

Not "mainly" Iran.

China, Indonesia and India have also been hard hit.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/01/stuxnet_china_analysis/

>>It has the capacity to not only seriously disrupt our basic services such as water,power etc but also our defence systems<<

Not really. Only if everyone concerned is fast asleep. Besides, it only affects Windows systems. Most critical systems these days shun Windows like the plague.

Which, in fact, it closely resembles.

>>It can mutate into a different identity and can lay dormant in our computers until an activation code is sent from a central authority<<

But one of the interesting aspects of Stuxnet is that the perpetrators didn't seem to care who became infected. By spreading it widely, they enabled it to be identified and fixed.

You also have to be aware that the majority of commentators on its dangers have a vested interest in selling you stuff that protects you from viruses. Hence the comment of "process control girl" on Bruce Schneier's blog.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/09/the_stuxnet_wor.html

"The consultants and anti-virus companies want to make it sound like TEOTWAWKI and so advanced that the average human cannot understand what's going on. Interesting that they are the ones who get financial and notoriety boots with such talk."

So, relax, Arjay. Your bank account is safe.

For the moment, anyway.

Outing yourself as a mouthpiece for President Ahmadinejad might not have been the smartest move.

Who knows what could happen to you.

Does your machine run Windows? Hmmmm.

Iran is far from perfect but the West has lost the plot Pericles.The reasons for invading Iran has no basis in fact.China is an ally of Iran.We know the invasion of Iraq was a total lie.Why should we believ the neo-cons in USA/Israel now?

Name one country Iran has invaded,then name all the invasions and interfernence the USA has perpetrated around the planet.

The stats initially show that 60% of this virus was in Iran.It was clearly aimed at the Iranian nuclear facilities.Wikileaks reported a nuclear accident in Iran which did not happen.They expected a nuclear accident due to the Stuxnet virus attack.This points to Wikileaks being a possible agent for Israel.