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Stuxnet may have up to 4 malware siblings made on the same …

venturebeat.com12/29/11

Stuxnet has been called the most sophisticated computer worm ever created. We know there are siblings to the malware which took down Iran's nuclear centrifuges, but now Kaspersky labs is saying there may be up to four …

'Stuxnet weapon has at least 4 cousins' «

warsclerotic.wordpress.com12/29/11

Stuxnet has already been linked to another virus, the Duqu data-stealing trojan, but Kaspersky's research suggests that the cyber weapons program that targeted Iran may be far more sophisticated than previously known. …

According to new research by the Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab, the Stuxnet virus that damaged Iran’s nuclear program last year is likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform.

Costin Raiu, who is Kaspersky’s director of global research & analysis said,

"The platform is comprised of a group of compatible software modules designed to fit together, each with different functions".

"It’s like a Lego set. You can assemble the components into anything: a robot or a house or a tank".

"When a machine becomes infected with Duqu or Stuxnet, the programs search for two unique registry keys on the PC linked to Duqu and Stuxnet, that are then used to load the main piece of malware onto the computer".

"The viruses have not yet been seen in the wild and it’s unclear whether they, like Stuxnet, have been built to cause failures at nuclear plants, or engineered for another purpose".

Kaspersky believes that Tilded traces back to at least 2007 because specific code installed by Duqu was compiled from a device running a Windows operating system on Aug. 31, 2007.

* Right now the words, "malware", "malicious", and "infected" are being used when describing the Stuxnet family but other words may be needed if the programmers’ intent is to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons – My opinion.

The Search For Missing Family Members

Security experts detected the malicious software by ‘keys’ in Stuxnet itself which suggest that it is looking for other family members to communicate with.

Duqu, which is a trojan horse program related to Stuxnet was detected in industrial systems earlier this year searches for Stuxnet and other Duqu machines that contain other members of the family.

Duqu is a scout program that is designed to steal information which can later be used in cyber attacks on industrial control systems, most likely producing a crippling cyber attack.

And what’s really amazing is that both Stuxnet and Duqu appear to be searching for three other relatives that have not been found yet.

Who’s Designed The Software?

Right now, experts believe that either the US or Israeli programmers did, and are doing the work, and some believe that the countries are working together.

Related info can be found at:

How Safe Are US Military Computer Systems?

Iran Confirms Stuxnet Caused Damage To Nuclear Sites!

Rice: Iraq withdrawal threatens US gains – The Hill's Video

thehill.com11/6/11

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Sunday that President Obama's plan to pull all U. S..

Obama's Tragic Iraq Withdrawal – Council on Foreign Relations

www.cfr.org10/31/11

Max Boot says the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq is not a triumph but a defeat for the United States.

So Why did the US Lose In Iraq?

It must, in all fairness be said, that Barack Obama was critical of the Iraq war from its beginning.

But when he became president in January 2009, he was handed a war that had already been won!

The surge had succeeded!

The US Had It Won!

Al-Qaeda in Iraq had been routed, driven to a humiliating defeat by an Anbar Awakening of Sunnis fighting side-by-side with the infidel Americans!

And perhaps even more remarkably, the Shiite militias had been taken down, with U.S. backing, by the forces of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki!

The Sadr militias from Basra to Sadr City had been crushed!

So Obama Inherited A Very Simple Task

He simply needed to negotiate a new (SOFA) Status-of-forces agreement in order to reinforce the gains and to create a strategic partnership with the Arab world’s only democracy.

But he blew it, and negotiations, such as they were, finally collapsed in October 2011.

There is no longer an agreement, and no partnership, and as of Dec. 31, and the U.S. military presence in Iraq will to all intents and purposes be ended.

So How Did The Obama Administration Blow It?

The deadline didn’t suddenly sneak up on Obama because he had three years to prepare for it, and everyone involved, both Iraqi and American, knew that the 2008 SOFA which called for full U.S. withdrawal was meant to be renegotiated.

And all the major parties but one, the Sadr faction, had an interest in maintaining a residual stabilizing U.S. force, similar to the postwar deployments in Japan, Germany and Korea.

Joe Biden Was Handed The Negotiating Job

During the last three years, there were two abject and serious failures.

The First Major Failure Was Caused By

The administration’s inability, at the height of American post-surge power, to broker a centrist nationalist coalition governed by the major blocs.

Between

The predominantly Shiite (Maliki’s).

The predominantly Sunni (Ayad Allawi’s).

And the Kurds who won a large majority (69 percent) of the seats in the 2010 election.

Vice President Biden was given this relatively simple job, but even this was way beyond his limited capabilities.

(Why did Obama choose Biden as his vice president?).

The Iraqi government ended up effectively being run by a narrow sectarian coalition wherein the balance of power is held by a relatively small (12%) Iranian-client Sadr faction.

The Second Failure Was

Obama’s Status-Of-Forces Agreement!

U.S. commanders recommended approximately 20,000 troops, which would have been considerably fewer than our 28,500 in Korea, 40,000 in Japan and 54,000 in Germany but our president rejected those proposals, and chose instead a level of 3,000 to 5,000 troops.

The President’s Decision Was Therefore Doomed To Failure!

Because a deployment so incredibly small will effectively have to expend ALL its energies simply protecting itself.

The Lebanese Deployment

Similar to our tragic and somewhat aimless 1982 Lebanon deployment, we’ll now be left with.

No capability to train the Iraqis.

No capability to build their U.S. equipped air force.

And no capability to mediate ethnic disputes.

Did Obama Really Want A Successful Outcome?

Almost certainly, "No", he didn’t!

Because Obama’s proposal was an unmistakable signal of unseriousness, and it quickly became clear that he just wanted out.

Some Proof Of What I’m Writing?

Massoud Barzani, who has been the leader of the Kurds for two decades and was the staunchest of U.S. allies, just visited Tehran to bend a knee to both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Obama’s Lame Excuse

Our friends should not have been left out in the cold to seek Iranian protection.

Three years and a won war gave Obama the opportunity to establish a lasting strategic alliance with the Arab world’s second most important power.

Obama’s excuse is the Iraqi refusal to grant legal immunity to U.S. forces, but the Bush administration encountered the same problem and overcame it.

Obama obviously had little desire to so however, and is now attempting to portray the withdrawal as a success.

So Why Didn’t Obama Want To Win?

Obama opposed the war which is understandable.

But when he became commander in chief, the terrible price had already been paid in blood and treasure, so surely his obligation was to make something of that sacrifice, to secure the strategic gains that sacrifice had already achieved?!

The Bottom Line

Years from now, we will most likely still be asking, not,

"How did the US lose the war in Iraq?".

But, "Why did the Obama Administration do it?".