Stuxnet weapon has at least 4 cousins: researchers
The Stuxnet virus that last year damaged Iran's nuclear program was likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform whose roots trace back to 2007, according to new research from Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab. - Security experts widely believe that the United States and Israel were behind Stuxnet, though the two nations have officially declined to comment on the matter. A Pentagon spokesman on Wednesday declined comment on Kaspersky's research, which did not address who was behind Stuxnet. Stuxnet has already been linked to another virus, the Duqu data-stealing trojan, but Kaspersky's research suggests the cyber weapons program that targeted Iran may be far more sophisticated than previously known. Kaspersky's director of global research & analysis, Costin Raiu, told Reuters on Wednesday that his team has gathered evidence that shows the same platform that was used to build Stuxnet and Duqu was also used to create at least three other pieces of malware.