Researchers analyzing the Stuxnet cyberweapon have found references in its code that could indicate that it was created in Israel. The hint to the weapon's origin comes as new information was shed on the virus Thursday during the Virus Bulletin conference in Vancouver, Canada, and amid reports in Chinese media that Stuxnet has widely impacted the Internet-savvy country.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Stuxnet, a powerful computer virus of unknown origin, contains a file named "Myrtus," which may reveal the virus's origin in a Da Vinci Code-esque fashion. The "Robert Langdon" on the case is a German computer security expert named Ralph Langner.
Although myrtus has several possible meanings – including being Latin for the plant myrtle – Mr. Langner noted that it may be an allusion to the Hebrew word for Esther. He pointed out that the Book of Esther features a plot by Persia against the Jews, who preemptively attacked in response.
“If you read the Bible you can make a guess,” said Mr. Langner, in a telephone interview from Germany on Wednesday.
Carol Newsom, an Old Testament scholar at Emory University, confirmed the linguistic connection between the plant family and the Old Testament figure, noting that Queen Esther’s original name in Hebrew was Hadassah, which is similar to the Hebrew word for myrtle. Perhaps, she said, “someone was making a learned cross-linguistic wordplay.”
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