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I don't know enough about the production of nuclear centrifuges to say for sure, but it seems probable that the damage intentionally inflicted by Stuxnet[1] may

I don't know enough about the production of nuclear centrifuges to say for sure, but it seems probable that the damage intentionally inflicted by Stuxnet[1] may very well have put some lives at risk. Triton looks more like another step down this path than like a watershed moment. Mike Hayden, 2012 [2]: > We have entered into a new phase of conflict in which we use a cyberweapon to create physical destruction, and in this case, physical destruction in someone else's critical infrastructure. Still, an alarming development. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet [2] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stuxnet-computer-worm-opens-new-era-of-warfare-04-06-2012/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stuxnet-computer-worm-opens-new...

floatrock 8y ago
Don't forget about Crimean power outages before the Russian annexation. And the cyber breadcrumbs we've found in our dams and power stations. Oh, and I hear Venezuela is coming out of a 4-day blackout right as we're ramping up all our aid/regime-change talk... About a year ago there was a major transformer that blew in downtown SF, knocking most of the fidi offline. I didn't think much of it -- stuff breaks, and this was pre-PG&E fiasco -- but then I heard the same thing happened in NYC and another major city (maybe Seattle?) that same morning. Things break regularly, and there's always some 3-city combined probability function, but it still made me glance over my metaphorical shoulder. Ideally we'll still be too scared to use nukes in the next hot war. Everything else that makes modern life bearable is fair game, though. [edit]: LA was the third city, and all failures were traced to physical faults/aging infrastructure: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/power-outages-la-sf-nyc https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/power-outages-la-sf-nyc Like I said, there always is a combined probability function, but point is we're gonna be doing a lot more glancing over our metaphorical shoulders the more we see stories like this.
- jazzyjackson 8y ago
  If I wanted to blow a transformer over the internet, I'd pick one that would be regarded as aging, too.
dx87 8y ago
Stuxnet only damaged centrifuges, anybody that was hurt would have been because of a freak accident. Triton's whole purpose is to kill people.
- gdy 8y ago
  Just like the purpose of all American and Russian nukes.
stickfigure 8y ago
Sure, you could make the argument that Iran and {some list of countries, including the US} are in a low-level state of war. The world isn't shedding much of a tear over Iran's nuclear program. Targeting civilian infrastructure? With potential mass civilian casualties? That's not in the same league.

floatrock 8y ago

Don't forget about Crimean power outages before the Russian annexation. And the cyber breadcrumbs we've found in our dams and power stations. Oh, and I hear Venezuela is coming out of a 4-day blackout right as we're ramping up all our aid/regime-change talk... About a year ago there was a major transformer that blew in downtown SF, knocking most of the fidi offline. I didn't think much of it -- stuff breaks, and this was pre-PG&E fiasco -- but then I heard the same thing happened in NYC and another major city (maybe Seattle?) that same morning. Things break regularly, and there's always some 3-city combined probability function, but it still made me glance over my metaphorical shoulder. Ideally we'll still be too scared to use nukes in the next hot war. Everything else that makes modern life bearable is fair game, though. [edit]: LA was the third city, and all failures were traced to physical faults/aging infrastructure: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/power-outages-la-sf-nyc https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/power-outages-la-sf-nyc Like I said, there always is a combined probability function, but point is we're gonna be doing a lot more glancing over our metaphorical shoulders the more we see stories like this.

jazzyjackson 8y ago
If I wanted to blow a transformer over the internet, I'd pick one that would be regarded as aging, too.

dx87 8y ago

Stuxnet only damaged centrifuges, anybody that was hurt would have been because of a freak accident. Triton's whole purpose is to kill people.

gdy 8y ago
Just like the purpose of all American and Russian nukes.

stickfigure 8y ago

Sure, you could make the argument that Iran and {some list of countries, including the US} are in a low-level state of war. The world isn't shedding much of a tear over Iran's nuclear program. Targeting civilian infrastructure? With potential mass civilian casualties? That's not in the same league.