Stuxnet virus targets and spread revealed

15 February 2011 Last updated at 13:51 GMT

Stuxnet virus targets and spread revealed

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A powerful internet worm repeatedly targeted five industrial facilities in Iran over 10 months, ongoing analysis by security researchers shows.

Stuxnet, which came to light in 2010, was the first-known virus specifically designed to target real-world infrastructure, such as power stations.

Security firm Symantec has now revealed how waves of new variants were launched at Iranian industrial facilities.

Some versions struck their targets within 12 hours of being written.

"We are trying to do some epidemiology," Orla Cox of Symantec told BBC News. "We are trying to understand how and why it spread."

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