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47 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 79 (2015)
Stuxnet and Its Hidden Lessons on the Ethics of Cyberweapons

handle is hein.journals/cwrint47 and id is 87 raw text is: CASE WESTERN RESERVE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 47 (2015) STUXNET AND ITS HIDDEN LESSONS ON THE ETHICS OF CYBERWEAPONS By P. W. Singer 1 In 2010, computer programmers around the world noticed a strange kind of cyber attack although it had global reach, it was highly targeted and very sophisticated. A German team, led by Ralph Langner, figured out that the worm, now known as Stuxnet, specifically targeted certain operations related to the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, causing the enrichment centrifuges to break down without any notice or apparent reason. As news of this new worm and its effects spread around the globe, the role of cyber attacks within the laws of war came into the forefront of discussions about the future of armed conflict. This article examines how Stuxnet changed the nature of cyber attacks and the ongoing discussion of where digital technology fits into the laws of war. I. T HE D IGITAL M YSTERY .................................................................... 79 II. STUXNET AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS ................................................ 80 A. Getting Past Operating System Security ........................................... 80 B . S tuxn et's T arg et ............................................................................ 81 C. W hat M ade Stuxnet D ifferent .......................................................... 82 III. STUXNET AS CYBERW EAPON ............................................................ 84 I. THE DIGITAL MYSTERY Ralph Langner is a jovial fellow with a quick wit, whose sense of whimsy is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that he wears cowboy boots. Wearing cowboy boots shouldn't be all that notable, until one realizes that Ralph is not from Texas, but Germany, and is not a cowboy, but a computer specialist. Langner is also incredibly inquisitive. It was this combination that led him to play a role in the discovery of one of the most notable weapons in history; and not just cyber history, but history overall. Since 1988, Ralph and his team of security experts have been advising organizations on the safety of large-scale computer system installations. Their special focus was industrial control systems, such as the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA), 1. P.W. Singer is Strategist and Senior Fellow at The New America Foundation and co-author of the book Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2014) friom which this article is derived. Further info at www.pwsinger.com Special thanks to the Cyber Conflict Studies Association for its support.

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