Stuxnet was created by the United States and Israel, targeting Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Program. The Stuxnet virus is a computer worm discovered in June 2010. Today, the Stuxnet, Duqu, and Flame computer worms continue to make headlines as a new breed of malware: computer worms designed for cyber warfare. This often happens through the sending of mass emails to infected users’ email contacts.Ĭomputer worms have caused billions of dollars in damages over the past decade. This means that worms can create multiple copies of themselves to send to other computers. In addition to being able to spread unassisted, computer worms have the ability to self-replicate. A major difference is the fact that viruses spread through human activity (running a program, opening a file, etc) while computer worms have the ability to spread automatically without human initiation. Malicious parties can use networks of these infected computers (“botnets”) to spread spam and perform denial-of-service attacks.Ĭomputer worms are classified as a type of computer virus, but there are several characteristics that distinguish computer worms from regular viruses. Some payloads even create backdoors in host computers that allow them to be controlled by other computers. Payloads are commonly designed to steal data or delete files. Payloads are pieces of code written to perform actions on affected computers beyond simply spreading the worm. Computer worms can also contain “payloads” that damage host computers. Worms typically cause harm to their host networks by consuming bandwidth and overloading web servers. They spread over computer networks by exploiting operating system vulnerabilities. Computer worms are among the most common types of malware.

How does worm virus work