US Defense Network Disabled By Porn-Displaying 'Suxnet' Virus
Suxnet was also the subject of a Time cover story.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. military officials confirmed Monday that the entire U.S. defense network was briefly disabled last week by an Iranian computer virus that infects military computers and then runs nonstop pornography on them.
Rumors of the Iranian virus, dubbed 'Suxnet' by members of the U.S. military, have been circulating since as early as 2001, when the U.S. first began large-scale troop deployments to the Middle East.
Officials familiar with the virus said it was extremely aggressive, thoroughly penetrating military computers before it was detected.
"We were in the middle of a totally routine day," said Gen. James McConville, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, "when all of a sudden every monitor in our Tactical Operations Center started displaying hardcore porn. We all just sort of stopped what we were doing ... then broke off in a mad-dash to the porta-johns, shower trailers, broom closets, EO offices, etcetera."
Patrols …
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Duffel Blog to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.