Last week, the Department of Homeland Security revealed a rash
of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies. Just as with
previous cyber attacks on infrastructure, there was no known
physical damage. But security experts worry it may only be a
matter of time. Efforts to protect pipelines and other critical
systems have been halting despite broad agreement that they're
vulnerable to viruses like Stuxnet 2014 the mysterious worm that
caused havoc to Iran's nuclear program two years ago. The
Frankenstein-like virus infected a type of industrial controller
that is ubiquitous 2014 used around the world on everything from
pipelines to the electric grid. Experts say manufacturers
haven't fixed security flaws in these essential but obscure
devices. Why hasn't more been done? Here's why Stuxnet remains a
top national security risk. Q. What is Stuxnet, anyway? Stuxnet
first made headlines when it burrowed into computers that
controlled uranium centrifuges in Iran's renegade nuclear
program. Its self-replicating c