Stuxnet Exploits Still Alive & Well - Dark Reading

August 15, 2014

Stuxnet Exploits Still Alive & Well - Dark Reading

Dark Reading, By Kelly Jackson Higgins

One of the main vulnerabilities used in the infamous Stuxnet attack -- patched four years ago -- is being used in attack attempts against millions of machines around the world, according to new data.

Kaspersky Lab found that during November 2013 and June 2014, the Windows Shell flaw (CVE-2010-2568) used by Stuxnet to gain administrative rights on a Windows machine remotely was detected 50 million times attacking some 19 million machines in Vietnam (42.45%), India (11.7%), Indonesia (9.43%), Brazil (5.52%), and Algeria (3.74%).

Those nations also have some of the most Windows XP installations, which likely explains why a high percentage of them are the target of that Stuxnet vulnerability, according to Kaspersky Lab. Some 64.19% of those machines in the sample were XP; 27.99%, Windows 7; 3.99%, Windows Server 2008; and 1.58%, Windows Server 2003. Around 4.52% of all active XP machines are in the US, according to Kaspersky's data. Read more.

About Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure, and governments around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading digital life protection for personal devices, specialized security products and services for companies, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help millions of individuals and nearly 200,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

Stuxnet Exploits Still Alive & Well - Dark Reading