Stuxnet Worm Responsible for Destroying Indian Satellite

According to a US bound security researcher, Jeffrey Carr, the Siemens-targeting Stuxnet worm created by Israel's military was also behind the destruction of an Indian broadcasting satellite, as reported by securecomputing in the first week of October 2010.

He stated that there are even more and better theories to explicate Stuxnet's motivation than just Iran and Israel, as others have speculated recently.

While Stuxnet had made its way to the Iran's first nuclear power plant, Carr stated that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which utilized the flaw Siemens devices, had also fallen prey to the Stuxnet worm.

Around half of the transponders on the Indian satellite INSAT-4B closed down suddenly because of a solar panel failure on 9 July 2010.

Carr further states that the Siemens software, which is used in ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, is S7-400 PLC and SIMATIC WinCC, both of which would trigger on the Stuxnet worm.

Commenting on his own findings, Carr stated that he believes that most probably China is responsible for Stuxnet than any other nation, as reported by Times of India on October 11, 2010. He added that he would furnish more details at the forthcoming NASSCOM DSCI Security Conclave in Chennai in December 2010.

On the other hand, ISRO completely denied Carr's theory and its officials stated that the computer worm only attacked a satellite's program logic controller (PLC). PLC's main task is to control the complete "logic of the spacecraft''.

According to some source their team can prove that Insat-4 B doesn't include a PLC. Hence, the possibilities of the Stuxnet worm targeting the satellite appear less. Instead of PLC, Insat-4B had its own self-designed software which controlled the entire logic of the spacecraft, as reported by The Economic Times on October 12, 2010.

The Stuxnet worm was first revealed in June 2010, a month prior to the unexpected power failure at the INSAT-4B that led to its breakdown. Since then there have been numerous theories about the origin of the Stuxnet worm, which has caused an extensive destruction around the world especially in Indonesia, Iran, and India.

Related article: Stuxnet malware Signed With JMicron Certificate

» SPAMfighter News - 10/15/2010