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Re:Stuxnet Source Code by rozenmd on Monday December 04, 2023 @05:54AM (#38515812)
I remember having to write a presentation about Stuxnet while at Uni, it was insane.

At the time they reckoned the authors had a functioning QA environment to ensure it actually worked (broke) the Siemens PLCs they were targeting.

Re:Stuxnet Source Code by bschne on Monday December 04, 2023 @06:35AM (#38516043)
Nitpick but it was even harder, they wanted to keep the PLCs intact, report back normal operation, and change the control output specifically to destroy/damage uranium centrifuges
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by ranting-moth on Monday December 04, 2023 @07:06AM (#38516269)
Yep. I'd be surprised if their QA environment didn't contain at least one uranium centrifuge.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by delusional on Monday December 04, 2023 @07:29AM (#38516458)
You'd be insane to develop something of the complexity of Stuxnet and not include a full end to end test in the QA process. It would be incredibly embarrassing for this to fail.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by edgyquant on Monday December 04, 2023 @09:54AM (#38518006)
Indeed. But as engineers it’s insane to think of having a testing environment that includes a uranium enrichment plant
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by delusional on Monday December 04, 2023 @12:59PM (#38520585)
Fair point. I can barely get access to a testing environment that contains a keycloak server.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by randomcarbloke on Monday December 04, 2023 @09:52AM (#38517982)
You don't really need the centrifuge, just the inverter.

I was working in industrial control and automation at the time, there were sweeping changes to what could and could not be done and by whom at every level.

Old drives of all manufacturers that sat unused were audited and had to be brought up-to-date before any sale or change of hands could occur, serials were noted etc etc.

Never felt like a manufacturer decision since it occurred in unison almost globally.

Re:Stuxnet Source Code by ranting-moth on Monday December 04, 2023 @10:16AM (#38518271)
>You don't really need ...

I think that project was way beyond the "really need" stage.

Re:Stuxnet Source Code by randomcarbloke on Thursday December 07, 2023 @07:03AM (#38555464)
granted, I don't know that it would give you any extra information though.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by cqqxo4zV46cp on Monday December 04, 2023 @07:01AM (#38516234)
Me too! It was such a pivotal moment.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by bitcharmer on Monday December 04, 2023 @08:57AM (#38517231)
Stuxnet didn't break anything. It was used to override the working regime of centrifuges and conceal this fact from being discovered.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by irobeth on Monday December 04, 2023 @09:21AM (#38517558)
I guess to be more exact, Stuxnet didn't break anything, but the PLC payload it delivered was designed to damage centrifuges, and that would have been the module under test in that QA environment
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by bitcharmer on Monday December 04, 2023 @10:43AM (#38518628)
Wasn't it actually about spoiling the whole stock of Iranian's Uranium by applying damaging amounts of centrifugal force to it? I'm probably wrong about that, just asking.
Re:Stuxnet Source Code by irobeth on Monday December 04, 2023 @11:31AM (#38519322)
the payload had a few modes of operation, IIRC

one was to spin it far faster than it should, then stop abruptly in an attempt to damage the centrifuge

one was to run it at the wrong RPM to spoil the product of the centrifuge

in either mode, it would replay 'good' data to make the centrifuge look functional to an administrator

the way I understood, a 'bonus goal' was to keep the Iranians unable to diagnose what was going wrong, both with their production process (producing bad stock) and the failures (promoting distrust in their engineers) - i can't find an article right now, but I remember reading they were churning through site engineers at the time - presumably firing them for the on-site failures of centrifuges or their inability to stop them