ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ralph Langner - Security consultant
Ralph Langner is a German control system security consultant. He has received worldwide recognition for his analysis of the Stuxnet malware.

Why you should listen

Ralph Langner heads Langner, an independent cyber-security firm that specializes in control systems -- electronic devices that monitor and regulate other devices, such as manufacturing equipment. These devices' deep connection to the infrastructure that runs our cities and countries has made them, increasingly, the targets of an emerging, highly sophisticated type of cyber-warfare. And since 2010, when the Stuxnet computer worm first reared its head, Langner has stood squarely in the middle of the battlefield.

As part of a global effort to decode the mysterious program, Langner and his team analyzed Stuxnet's data structures, and revealed what he believes to be its ultimate intent: the control system software known to run centrifuges in nuclear facilities -- specifically, facilities in Iran. Further analysis by Langner uncovered what seem to be Stuxnet's shocking origins, which he revealed in his TED2011 talk. (PS: He was right.)

More profile about the speaker
Ralph Langner | Speaker | TED.com
TED2011

Ralph Langner: Cracking Stuxnet, a 21st-century cyber weapon

Filmed:
1,567,512 views

When first discovered in 2010, the Stuxnet computer worm posed a baffling puzzle. Beyond its sophistication loomed a more troubling mystery: its purpose. Ralph Langner and team helped crack the code that revealed this digital warhead's final target. In a fascinating look inside cyber-forensics, he explains how -- and makes a bold (and, it turns out, correct) guess at its shocking origins.
- Security consultant
Ralph Langner is a German control system security consultant. He has received worldwide recognition for his analysis of the Stuxnet malware. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
The idea behind the Stuxnet computer worm
0
0
3000
00:18
is actually quite simple.
1
3000
2000
00:20
We don't want Iran to get the bomb.
2
5000
3000
00:23
Their major asset for developing nuclear weapons
3
8000
3000
00:26
is the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
4
11000
4000
00:30
The gray boxes that you see,
5
15000
2000
00:32
these are real-time control systems.
6
17000
3000
00:35
Now if we manage to compromise these systems
7
20000
3000
00:38
that control drive speeds and valves,
8
23000
3000
00:41
we can actually cause a lot of problems
9
26000
3000
00:44
with the centrifuge.
10
29000
2000
00:46
The gray boxes don't run Windows software;
11
31000
2000
00:48
they are a completely different technology.
12
33000
3000
00:51
But if we manage
13
36000
2000
00:53
to place a good Windows virus
14
38000
3000
00:56
on a notebook
15
41000
2000
00:58
that is used by a maintenance engineer
16
43000
2000
01:00
to configure this gray box,
17
45000
3000
01:03
then we are in business.
18
48000
2000
01:05
And this is the plot behind Stuxnet.
19
50000
3000
01:08
So we start with a Windows dropper.
20
53000
5000
01:13
The payload goes onto the gray box,
21
58000
3000
01:16
damages the centrifuge,
22
61000
2000
01:18
and the Iranian nuclear program is delayed --
23
63000
2000
01:20
mission accomplished.
24
65000
2000
01:22
That's easy, huh?
25
67000
2000
01:24
I want to tell you how we found that out.
26
69000
3000
01:27
When we started our research on Stuxnet six months ago,
27
72000
3000
01:30
it was completely unknown what the purpose of this thing was.
28
75000
3000
01:33
The only thing that was known
29
78000
2000
01:35
is it's very, very complex on the Windows part, the dropper part,
30
80000
3000
01:38
used multiple zero-day vulnerabilities.
31
83000
3000
01:41
And it seemed to want to do something
32
86000
3000
01:44
with these gray boxes, these real-time control systems.
33
89000
2000
01:46
So that got our attention,
34
91000
2000
01:48
and we started a lab project
35
93000
2000
01:50
where we infected our environment with Stuxnet
36
95000
4000
01:54
and checked this thing out.
37
99000
2000
01:56
And then some very funny things happened.
38
101000
3000
01:59
Stuxnet behaved like a lab rat
39
104000
3000
02:02
that didn't like our cheese --
40
107000
3000
02:05
sniffed, but didn't want to eat.
41
110000
2000
02:07
Didn't make sense to me.
42
112000
2000
02:09
And after we experimented with different flavors of cheese,
43
114000
3000
02:12
I realized, well, this is a directed attack.
44
117000
4000
02:16
It's completely directed.
45
121000
2000
02:18
The dropper is prowling actively
46
123000
2000
02:20
on the gray box
47
125000
2000
02:22
if a specific configuration is found,
48
127000
3000
02:25
and even if the actual program code that it's trying to infect
49
130000
4000
02:29
is actually running on that target.
50
134000
2000
02:31
And if not, Stuxnet does nothing.
51
136000
3000
02:34
So that really got my attention,
52
139000
2000
02:36
and we started to work on this
53
141000
2000
02:38
nearly around the clock,
54
143000
2000
02:40
because I thought, "Well, we don't know what the target is.
55
145000
3000
02:43
It could be, let's say for example,
56
148000
2000
02:45
a U.S. power plant,
57
150000
2000
02:47
or a chemical plant in Germany.
58
152000
2000
02:49
So we better find out what the target is soon."
59
154000
3000
02:52
So we extracted and decompiled
60
157000
2000
02:54
the attack code,
61
159000
2000
02:56
and we discovered that it's structured in two digital bombs --
62
161000
3000
02:59
a smaller one and a bigger one.
63
164000
3000
03:02
And we also saw that they are very professionally engineered
64
167000
4000
03:06
by people who obviously had all insider information.
65
171000
4000
03:10
They knew all the bits and bites
66
175000
2000
03:12
that they had to attack.
67
177000
2000
03:14
They probably even know the shoe size of the operator.
68
179000
3000
03:17
So they know everything.
69
182000
2000
03:19
And if you have heard that the dropper of Stuxnet
70
184000
3000
03:22
is complex and high-tech,
71
187000
2000
03:24
let me tell you this:
72
189000
2000
03:26
the payload is rocket science.
73
191000
2000
03:28
It's way above everything
74
193000
2000
03:30
that we have ever seen before.
75
195000
3000
03:33
Here you see a sample of this actual attack code.
76
198000
3000
03:36
We are talking about --
77
201000
2000
03:38
around about 15,000 lines of code.
78
203000
3000
03:41
Looks pretty much like old-style assembly language.
79
206000
3000
03:44
And I want to tell you how we were able
80
209000
2000
03:46
to make sense out of this code.
81
211000
2000
03:48
So what we were looking for is, first of all, system function calls,
82
213000
3000
03:51
because we know what they do.
83
216000
2000
03:53
And then we were looking for timers and data structures
84
218000
4000
03:57
and trying to relate them to the real world --
85
222000
2000
03:59
to potential real world targets.
86
224000
2000
04:01
So we do need target theories
87
226000
3000
04:04
that we can prove or disprove.
88
229000
3000
04:07
In order to get target theories,
89
232000
2000
04:09
we remember
90
234000
2000
04:11
that it's definitely hardcore sabotage,
91
236000
2000
04:13
it must be a high-value target
92
238000
2000
04:15
and it is most likely located in Iran,
93
240000
3000
04:18
because that's where most of the infections had been reported.
94
243000
4000
04:22
Now you don't find several thousand targets in that area.
95
247000
3000
04:25
It basically boils down
96
250000
2000
04:27
to the Bushehr nuclear power plant
97
252000
2000
04:29
and to the Natanz fuel enrichment plant.
98
254000
2000
04:31
So I told my assistant,
99
256000
2000
04:33
"Get me a list of all centrifuge and power plant experts from our client base."
100
258000
3000
04:36
And I phoned them up and picked their brain
101
261000
2000
04:38
in an effort to match their expertise
102
263000
2000
04:40
with what we found in code and data.
103
265000
3000
04:43
And that worked pretty well.
104
268000
2000
04:45
So we were able to associate
105
270000
2000
04:47
the small digital warhead
106
272000
2000
04:49
with the rotor control.
107
274000
2000
04:51
The rotor is that moving part within the centrifuge,
108
276000
3000
04:54
that black object that you see.
109
279000
2000
04:56
And if you manipulate the speed of this rotor,
110
281000
3000
04:59
you are actually able to crack the rotor
111
284000
2000
05:01
and eventually even have the centrifuge explode.
112
286000
4000
05:05
What we also saw
113
290000
2000
05:07
is that the goal of the attack
114
292000
2000
05:09
was really to do it slowly and creepy --
115
294000
3000
05:12
obviously in an effort
116
297000
2000
05:14
to drive maintenance engineers crazy,
117
299000
3000
05:17
that they would not be able to figure this out quickly.
118
302000
3000
05:20
The big digital warhead -- we had a shot at this
119
305000
3000
05:23
by looking very closely
120
308000
2000
05:25
at data and data structures.
121
310000
2000
05:27
So for example, the number 164
122
312000
2000
05:29
really stands out in that code;
123
314000
2000
05:31
you can't overlook it.
124
316000
2000
05:33
I started to research scientific literature
125
318000
2000
05:35
on how these centrifuges
126
320000
2000
05:37
are actually built in Natanz
127
322000
2000
05:39
and found they are structured
128
324000
2000
05:41
in what is called a cascade,
129
326000
2000
05:43
and each cascade holds 164 centrifuges.
130
328000
4000
05:47
So that made sense, that was a match.
131
332000
2000
05:49
And it even got better.
132
334000
2000
05:51
These centrifuges in Iran
133
336000
2000
05:53
are subdivided into 15, what is called, stages.
134
338000
4000
05:57
And guess what we found in the attack code?
135
342000
2000
05:59
An almost identical structure.
136
344000
2000
06:01
So again, that was a real good match.
137
346000
3000
06:04
And this gave us very high confidence for what we were looking at.
138
349000
3000
06:07
Now don't get me wrong here, it didn't go like this.
139
352000
3000
06:10
These results have been obtained
140
355000
3000
06:13
over several weeks of really hard labor.
141
358000
3000
06:16
And we often went into just a dead end
142
361000
3000
06:19
and had to recover.
143
364000
2000
06:21
Anyway, so we figured out
144
366000
2000
06:23
that both digital warheads
145
368000
2000
06:25
were actually aiming at one and the same target,
146
370000
2000
06:27
but from different angles.
147
372000
2000
06:29
The small warhead is taking one cascade,
148
374000
3000
06:32
and spinning up the rotors and slowing them down,
149
377000
3000
06:35
and the big warhead
150
380000
2000
06:37
is talking to six cascades
151
382000
2000
06:39
and manipulating valves.
152
384000
2000
06:41
So in all, we are very confident
153
386000
2000
06:43
that we have actually determined what the target is.
154
388000
2000
06:45
It is Natanz, and it is only Natanz.
155
390000
3000
06:48
So we don't have to worry
156
393000
2000
06:50
that other targets
157
395000
2000
06:52
might be hit by Stuxnet.
158
397000
2000
06:54
Here's some very cool stuff that we saw --
159
399000
3000
06:57
really knocked my socks off.
160
402000
2000
06:59
Down there is the gray box,
161
404000
2000
07:01
and on the top you see the centrifuges.
162
406000
3000
07:04
Now what this thing does
163
409000
2000
07:06
is it intercepts the input values from sensors --
164
411000
3000
07:09
so for example, from pressure sensors
165
414000
2000
07:11
and vibration sensors --
166
416000
2000
07:13
and it provides legitimate program code,
167
418000
3000
07:16
which is still running during the attack,
168
421000
2000
07:18
with fake input data.
169
423000
2000
07:20
And as a matter of fact, this fake input data
170
425000
2000
07:22
is actually prerecorded by Stuxnet.
171
427000
3000
07:25
So it's just like from the Hollywood movies
172
430000
2000
07:27
where during the heist,
173
432000
2000
07:29
the observation camera is fed with prerecorded video.
174
434000
3000
07:32
That's cool, huh?
175
437000
2000
07:35
The idea here is obviously
176
440000
2000
07:37
not only to fool the operators in the control room.
177
442000
3000
07:40
It actually is much more dangerous and aggressive.
178
445000
4000
07:44
The idea
179
449000
2000
07:46
is to circumvent a digital safety system.
180
451000
3000
07:50
We need digital safety systems
181
455000
2000
07:52
where a human operator could not act quick enough.
182
457000
3000
07:55
So for example, in a power plant,
183
460000
2000
07:57
when your big steam turbine gets too over speed,
184
462000
3000
08:00
you must open relief valves within a millisecond.
185
465000
3000
08:03
Obviously, this cannot be done by a human operator.
186
468000
3000
08:06
So this is where we need digital safety systems.
187
471000
2000
08:08
And when they are compromised,
188
473000
2000
08:10
then real bad things can happen.
189
475000
3000
08:13
Your plant can blow up.
190
478000
2000
08:15
And neither your operators nor your safety system will notice it.
191
480000
3000
08:18
That's scary.
192
483000
2000
08:20
But it gets worse.
193
485000
2000
08:22
And this is very important, what I'm going to say.
194
487000
3000
08:25
Think about this:
195
490000
2000
08:27
this attack is generic.
196
492000
3000
08:30
It doesn't have anything to do, in specifics,
197
495000
4000
08:34
with centrifuges,
198
499000
2000
08:36
with uranium enrichment.
199
501000
3000
08:39
So it would work as well, for example,
200
504000
3000
08:42
in a power plant
201
507000
2000
08:44
or in an automobile factory.
202
509000
3000
08:47
It is generic.
203
512000
2000
08:49
And you don't have -- as an attacker --
204
514000
2000
08:51
you don't have to deliver this payload
205
516000
3000
08:54
by a USB stick,
206
519000
2000
08:56
as we saw it in the case of Stuxnet.
207
521000
2000
08:58
You could also use conventional worm technology for spreading.
208
523000
3000
09:01
Just spread it as wide as possible.
209
526000
3000
09:04
And if you do that,
210
529000
2000
09:06
what you end up with
211
531000
2000
09:08
is a cyber weapon of mass destruction.
212
533000
5000
09:14
That's the consequence
213
539000
2000
09:16
that we have to face.
214
541000
3000
09:19
So unfortunately,
215
544000
3000
09:22
the biggest number of targets for such attacks
216
547000
3000
09:25
are not in the Middle East.
217
550000
2000
09:27
They're in the United States and Europe and in Japan.
218
552000
3000
09:30
So all of the green areas,
219
555000
2000
09:32
these are your target-rich environments.
220
557000
3000
09:35
We have to face the consequences,
221
560000
3000
09:38
and we better start to prepare right now.
222
563000
3000
09:41
Thanks.
223
566000
2000
09:43
(Applause)
224
568000
6000
09:49
Chris Anderson: I've got a question.
225
574000
2000
09:53
Ralph, it's been quite widely reported
226
578000
2000
09:55
that people assume that Mossad
227
580000
2000
09:57
is the main entity behind this.
228
582000
2000
09:59
Is that your opinion?
229
584000
3000
10:02
Ralph Langner: Okay, you really want to hear that?
230
587000
2000
10:04
Yeah. Okay.
231
589000
2000
10:06
My opinion is that the Mossad is involved,
232
591000
3000
10:09
but that the leading force is not Israel.
233
594000
3000
10:12
So the leading force behind that
234
597000
2000
10:14
is the cyber superpower.
235
599000
3000
10:17
There is only one,
236
602000
2000
10:19
and that's the United States --
237
604000
2000
10:21
fortunately, fortunately.
238
606000
2000
10:23
Because otherwise,
239
608000
2000
10:25
our problems would even be bigger.
240
610000
3000
10:28
CA: Thank you for scaring the living daylights out of us. Thank you, Ralph.
241
613000
4000
10:32
(Applause)
242
617000
2000

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ralph Langner - Security consultant
Ralph Langner is a German control system security consultant. He has received worldwide recognition for his analysis of the Stuxnet malware.

Why you should listen

Ralph Langner heads Langner, an independent cyber-security firm that specializes in control systems -- electronic devices that monitor and regulate other devices, such as manufacturing equipment. These devices' deep connection to the infrastructure that runs our cities and countries has made them, increasingly, the targets of an emerging, highly sophisticated type of cyber-warfare. And since 2010, when the Stuxnet computer worm first reared its head, Langner has stood squarely in the middle of the battlefield.

As part of a global effort to decode the mysterious program, Langner and his team analyzed Stuxnet's data structures, and revealed what he believes to be its ultimate intent: the control system software known to run centrifuges in nuclear facilities -- specifically, facilities in Iran. Further analysis by Langner uncovered what seem to be Stuxnet's shocking origins, which he revealed in his TED2011 talk. (PS: He was right.)

More profile about the speaker
Ralph Langner | Speaker | TED.com