Cyberwarfare escalates to a new level

The "Stuxnet" malware is thought to be the latest in cyber warfare. Here's the Christian Science Monitor:

Cyber security experts say they have identified the world's first known cyber super weapon designed specifically to destroy a real-world target – a factory, a refinery, or just maybe a nuclear power plant. 

The cyber worm, called Stuxnet, has been the object of intense study since its detection in June. As more has become known about it, alarm about its capabilities and purpose have grown. Some top cyber security experts now say Stuxnet's arrival heralds something blindingly new: a cyber weapon created to cross from the digital realm to the physical world – to destroy something.

Obsidian Wings has a good roundup of reactions and analysis. Note that this malware has probably already tried to do whatever it was going to do (best guess is that it was targeting some Iranian weapons plant), so it's not a big danger to you right now. But its implications are frightening.