FINAL WORD
more than 10 million Windows computers . The email included an attachment of a visual basic ( VBS ) file using a double extension method that made the attachment look like a text document .
When run , the malicious script would then overwrite some files like audio files , documents and images , then send the infected email to all your contacts .
The worm spread around the world very quickly , allegedly causing five to eight billion dollars in damages . In 2012 The Smithsonian listed ILOVEYOU as one of 10 most destructive viruses ever . lasting damage , they did make ‘ Scientology ’ a top , often negatively viewed , topic at the time .
While the industry didn ’ t have much sympathy for Scientology as a whole , this did put Anonymous operations on the map , some of which targeted respected , legitimate organizations . Ultimately , even though the group has no known leader or public members , Anonymous was one of the most fearsome hacking groups of the decade , and many people did not want to disparage Anonymous in fear of retaliation .
2010 : STUXNET
Marc Laliberte , Technical Security
Operations Manager at WatchGuard Technologies
At the time of the attack , the Philippines did not have a law against writing malware , meaning the college student couldn ’ t be prosecuted . As a result , the Philippines , and other nations across the world , enacted more cybersecurity laws .
2008 : Operation Chanology
In 2008 , the hacktivist collective Anonymous carried out Project or Operation Chanology in an attempt to troll , discredit and disrupt the Church of Scientology .
At the time , Scientology was not faring too well with the netizens of the Internet , criticizing the church for several of its legal actions , such as removing some Tom Cruise videos and a Usenet Scientology newsgroup claiming copyright disputes .
Not only that , many of these netizens believed the Church of Scientology was a cult brainwashing its followers . The cyberattack campaign was one of Anonymous ’ first ‘ operations .’
The project involved everything from prank calls and launching DDoS attacks to taking down entire websites and releasing several videos disproving their claims . While the group didn ’ t cause the church any
Stuxnet was a state-sponsored cyberattack targeting Iran ’ s supervisory control and data acquisition ( SCADA ) systems as well as causing severe damage to the country ’ s nuclear program . Aside from being a clearly political and government-related attack , Stuxnet was the most sophisticated malware known at the time , containing an unprecedented four zero day exploits , a first ever programmable logic controller ( PLC ) rootkit , and much more , making it far more complex than the average cyberattack .
Stuxnet successfully infiltrated a highly guarded , airgapped uranium enrichment facility , sabotaging the centrifuges used to make weapon-grade uranium . To date , no one has claimed ownership for the attack , but it is widely believed to have been a collaborative effort between the US and Israeli governments , and part of the US ’ s codename operation called Olympic Games , started by President Bush in 2007 .
Stuxnet was the first sophisticated governmentsponsored cyberattack leaked to the public so blatantly , demonstrating that governments were using cyberattacks for their own gain . While cyber warfare existed ( albeit under the radar ) before , Stuxnet opened the door for more state-sponsored threat actors and governments leveraging hacking for spying and black ops .
Cybercriminals were able to take advantage of the public leak by learning several of the attack ’ s methods , going so far as to copy some of the malware ’ s zero day exploits . After Stuxnet , malware prevention and detection had to evolve in order to catch up with hackers and their exploits ( which is still a challenge today ).
While we ’ ve seen our fair share of excitement over the last 25 years , with cybercriminals and their motives changing and evolving , and various groups stepping up to defend against attacks , it is important to keep the challenges and successes in mind when planning future cybersecurity strategies . As the old saying goes , those who don ’ t remember history are condemned to repeat it . p
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