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I disagree with the categorization of this attack as 'military' grade, though upon reflection this is largely semantic. By military you refer to the degree and

I disagree with the categorization of this attack as 'military' grade, though upon reflection this is largely semantic. By military you refer to the degree and purpose of the accomplished action. But it isn't warfare proper in my mind. Military action has a nationality to it, and we don't know who it was [star]. Military action has an opposition with its own capacity for action, and Iran is not hacking at the reverse. Maybe it's that I have a category in my mind for open cyberwarfare, and its character is absurd. It seems to me that the endgame is quick: disable the power or take control of computers and fill the country's network with garbage. That'd be a precise and deadly trick to pull off. Ah, there's another distinction then: this was a subtle effect designed solely for sabotage. It's not outright war on their system. Outright cyberwarfare could only be a prelude to military action. Incapacitate a nation like the US for a mere 24 hours, and imagine what military possibilities that could yield... Hopefully the cyberwarfare to come will be cyber-espionage--little tricks and turns, subtle but powerful changes--instead of cyber assault. [star] except that it was probably the US or Israel. I'd bet it was the US, any takers? [subfootnote] is the escaping of asterisks really turned off?

aaronbrethorst 16y ago
My money is on Mossad: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63225920/ http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63225920/
- yuvadam 16y ago
  The current assumption here in Israel is that this was a joint operation. Mossad brought the detailed intel (possibly with US assistance) and the army intelligence unit 8200 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_8200 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_8200) carried out the execution. Unit 8200 is not only in charge of SIGINT collection, but also oversees and coordinates the entire cyber-warfare effort in the IDF.
  - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
    Very interesting, thanks for the further detail.
vgbhjnmkl 16y ago
The US sabotaged some parts for a gas pipeline that were stolen by the Russians from a Canadian company. The sabotage caused the pipeline to explode - fortunately in an uninhabited area. I wonder where the first casualty will be?
cabalamat 16y ago
> Military action has a nationality to it, and we don't know who it was That doesn't preclude it from being military action. For example, there were Italian submarines involved in sinking ships during the Spanish Civil war, and at the time the nationality of the submarines wasn't known. But no-one would classify that as not being military action. Quite possibly the identity of the people behind Stuxnet will emerge over the next few decades.

aaronbrethorst 16y ago

My money is on Mossad: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63225920/ http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63225920/

yuvadam 16y ago
The current assumption here in Israel is that this was a joint operation. Mossad brought the detailed intel (possibly with US assistance) and the army intelligence unit 8200 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_8200 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_8200) carried out the execution. Unit 8200 is not only in charge of SIGINT collection, but also oversees and coordinates the entire cyber-warfare effort in the IDF.
- aaronbrethorst 16y ago
  Very interesting, thanks for the further detail.

vgbhjnmkl 16y ago

The US sabotaged some parts for a gas pipeline that were stolen by the Russians from a Canadian company. The sabotage caused the pipeline to explode - fortunately in an uninhabited area. I wonder where the first casualty will be?

cabalamat 16y ago

> Military action has a nationality to it, and we don't know who it was That doesn't preclude it from being military action. For example, there were Italian submarines involved in sinking ships during the Spanish Civil war, and at the time the nationality of the submarines wasn't known. But no-one would classify that as not being military action. Quite possibly the identity of the people behind Stuxnet will emerge over the next few decades.