Stuxnet changed the way industrial cybersecurity is viewed, as a worm of this complexity was never before seen at this stage. The worm itself took advantage of hte private network not connected with the Internet, and was able to do all actions in memory with no disk evidence left behind. It was able to discreetly change the functions of the machines the software was controlling. This is concerning as many industrial infrastructures do not update their software components very often due to fear of side effects or loss of function, so vulnerabilities that Stuxnet took advantage of may not be able to be patched as quickly in other softwares. This attack highlighted that networks that are not connected to the Internet can still be accessed by malicious actors, meaning the next generation of industrial softwares must monitor data continuously, and possibly use in-cloud services that have more security features built into them. Information must be stored in a cross-layer way, with components that can be dynamically added and removed to allow for the highest level of cybersecurity.
