Cyber commander accuses countries of targeting infrastructure

Posted by R.J. Jacob ⋅ July 28, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Unspecified nations played a role in a 17-fold jump in cyber attacks on U.S. infrastructure since 2009, but this does not appear to reflect payback for a reported U.S. role in malicious code known as Stuxnet, the head of the Pentagon’s National Security Agency said on Thursday.

“I don’t see the correlation there at all,” Army General Keith Alexander told a security forum in Aspen, Colorado. “I don’t see anything that goes to Stuxnet or anything like that.”

Stuxnet was the first discovered malware designed to subvert industrial systems. Credited with setting back Iran’s disputed nuclear program, it has been reported by The New York Times to have been part of a U.S. and Israeli intelligence operation started under President George W. Bush and expanded under President Barack Obama.