‘Stuxnet II’ digital weapon can crash electricity grids and cripple economies!

If you are unaware of Stuxnet heres a video that describes its capabilities to turn code into a weapon.

Tech experts have discovered a "new threat" described as the most dangerous since Stuxnet, the "worm" that was used to disrupt Iran's nuclear centrifuges and stop it refining uranium to the grade needed to make an atomic weapon.

The newly discovered malware has been officially named "Win32/Industroyer", but we've dubbed it "Stuxnet II".

It was designed by an unknown group described as "advanced, capable and malicious", who built it to target industrial control systems.

Analysts believe a version of the malware was used to launch a cyberattack against The Ukraine in December 2016 which caused blackouts across the nation.

If it was let loose on a nation such as the UK or America, it could potentially bring down parts of the power grid and cause millions or even billions of pounds worth of economic damage, depending on the severity of the attack.

Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer at tech firm FireMon, said: "The key characteristic of the Industroyer malware is that it [is] difficult to detect or protect against.

"This means there is no exploit or abnormal behaviour to focus on that would indicate an attack or compromise."

A group called ESET has just published a paper on the malware.

It said the "gang" who made it "went to great lengths to create malware capable of directly controlling switches and circuit breakers".

If it was let loose on a nation such as the UK or America, it could potentially bring down parts of the power grid and cause millions or even billions of pounds worth of economic damage, depending on the severity of the attack.

Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer at tech firm FireMon, said: "The key characteristic of the Industroyer malware is that it [is] difficult to detect or protect against.

"This means there is no exploit or abnormal behaviour to focus on that would indicate an attack or compromise."

A group called ESET has just published a paper on the malware.

It said the "gang" who made it "went to great lengths to create malware capable of directly controlling switches and circuit breakers".