This news article relating to the 'Stuxnet Worm', makes me wonder what kind of people would wish to write such a devastating program; a program that could have lasting consequences for hundreds of thousands of people. Causing mass devastation and possible deaths throughout the infected system's region. Not nice, clever, but definitely not nice!

What are your thoughts?

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Stuxnet-Worm-Iran-Deny-Nuclear-Power-Station-Was-Hit-By-First-Cyberweapon-Of-Its-Kind/Article/201009415747044?lpos=Technology_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15747044_Stuxnet_Worm%3A_Iran_Deny_Nuclear_Power_Station_Was_Hit_By_First_Cyberweapon_Of_Its_Kind

I read about that elsewhere. But it sort of puts things in perspective for you. That malware was really f***ing deep in. It makes you wonder, how many systems are really rooted at that level globally? I used to work for an Industrial Engineering company, and we worked with PLC's extensively. I remember in particular when we got a new model from GE that had wireless capability, because alot of them at the time where standalone and didn't always connect to a network of sorts. There wasn't any security software on those, so if you got in range with a yagi or something, you could hook up to it.

But I remember thinking about getting in on one when playing with the software. The thing about PLC software is you do need to be familar with it's workings because it can be quite complex, and is usually very robust. Take RSLogix software for instance, it takes a few months to be able work with it well, and efficiently. It's also very common PLC software, and probably links with LabView somewhere, complicating things even more. So, I think, this kinda had to be an inside job.

In all honesty, if you allow your PLC network to be connected to the internet, you're asking for trouble anyway.