Can a virus attack your plc?

[JanitorsTears]

It was a Siemens issue not Rockwell

My only suggestion is for you to maybe do a bit more research on the stuxnet. There is way too much information to answer you in a one line reply.

Your desire to answer a different question to the one I asked notwithstanding, I did the research THANKS.

Now, let's go third time's the charm.... would they (and we can't say who they are because that would be racist) need to write a virus and use rare exploits and all that other nonsense to get the Stuxnet payload into Rockwell software? (which we can't say where that software is from because that would be racist)
Or is that payload built right into the software directly, maybe Edward Snowden has the answer.

 

[Jeebs]

Nah, easier to look at how the software/communication works so you can fully customize your virus. Building it into the standard software, your powers are limited because you are dependant on the software developer.
Much better to get a virus that use rare exploits and mimic 'official' software.

But the obvious reason would be that should you integrate the virus into the main software package, you'd lose just about all your customers once it gets out that your software polls a baseball site for updates......

We all know who's behind it.
And we know they're currently working on a next version.
Don't think they'll use it right away, but they'd be more likely to want something for when they need it. Don't doubt they have similar ones for just about every major manufacturer.

 

[JanitorsTears]

Yeah maybe. I just think that the "Your country needs you" speech is easier*. Especially as we now know that many very VERY large companies complied with requests for unfettered access to systems and servers already, there is no reason to assume that any other software house could resist the might (read: inherent threats) of the those who are allowed to break their own country's laws without fear of penalty.

*although those software skills, maybe even Stuxnet itself, was more of a training exercise than a tactical deployment, it certainly achieved very little and they could not possibly have envisaged it would be anything more than a minor setback in capability and a major setback in trust.

 

[Lancie1]

...although those software skills, maybe even Stuxnet itself, was more of a training exercise than a tactical deployment, it certainly achieved very little ...

It appears that it delayed the deployment of bombers, missles, and boots on the ground in Iran until about 2015. What Stuxnet achieved was more that all the negotiation talks and trading blockades have ever done.