2025/04/11 by Jon R. Lindsay · 1 voice
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies #Information and Cyber Security #Intelligence, Security, War Strategy
paper · doi:10.1080/01402390.2025.2481447
openalex publication_date 2025/04/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear program is an outlier in the history of cyber conflict. While espionage and subversion are prevalent, serious cyber-physical damage remains rare. Stuxnet has thus had an outsized influence on debates about cyber warfare, for visionaries and skeptics alike. This seminal case deserves a second look in light of more recent evidence and the evolving literature on cybersecurity. Rather than a precious incident of cyber warfare, Stuxnet can be better understood as a tool of covert diplomacy. Indeed, Stuxnet illustrates key features of secret statecraft such as indefinite duration, institutional subversion, clandestine organization, and escalation management.