Year – 2010

Estimated Economic Losses – Not publicly disclosed (Primarily caused physical damage to Iran’s nuclear enrichment infrastructure rather than direct financial losses.)

Systems Affected – Over 100,000 Windows systems infected globally, with the primary target being Siemens Step7 PLCs controlling uranium enrichment centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility.

Type of Attack – Industrial Control System (ICS) Malware | Cyber-Physical Sabotage Worm

Suspected Group / Organization – Widely attributed to a joint cyber operation by the United States and Israel (official responsibility has not been acknowledged).

Investigators performed malware reverse engineering, memory and disk forensics, PLC code analysis, and network traffic examination to analyze Stuxnet’s behavior. The investigation uncovered multiple zero-day exploits, stolen digital certificates, malicious PLC code, and sophisticated techniques used to conceal the sabotage, supporting its attribution as a state-sponsored cyber operation.