The Stuxnet virus is a form of computer attackware, unprecedented in size and complexity, that targets the everyday operation of critical infrastructure. Stuxnet was the first virus to infect industrial control systems (ICSs), messaging systems that control the operations of critical infrastructure, as a means of manipulating the actions of machines in the physical world. Traffic light systems, nuclear power plants, manufacturing assembly lines, and electric power grids are examples of critical infrastructure facilities that utilize ICSs.

A security company in Belarus was the first to discover the virus in June 2010, but analysts believe that it existed on ICSs for at least 1 year prior. When the virus was first discovered, a majority of the infected systems were located in Iran, followed by India and ...