In a recent revelation, Wall Street Journal (WSJ)'s Rachael King said that the IT systems of US-based company Chevron were infected by the Stuxnet malware in 2010; a disclosure which has now been acknowledged by Chevron for the first time.

Noting that the sophisticated computer virus Stuxnet was created by the US and Israel in 2010, for spying on and attacking Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz, King said that Chevron is the first US firm to have admitted that its network was hit by the malware.

King further added that most of the security experts are of the opinion that though the industrial devices - called programmable logic controllers (PLCs) - targeted by Stuxnet malware are manufactured by bigwig companies like Siemens, most of the companies do not report the hacking incidents either due to "security" reasons or "to avoid embarrassment."

Further adding that millions of PLCs are sold all across the world, King said that the widespread use of PLCs potentially puts all the industrial companies using these devices "at risk of being infected."

Meanwhile, about Chevron being hit by Stuxnet, a company spokesperson told CNET that, two years back, the Stuxnet virus had been identified by Chevron's security systems. The representative also said that the Chevron IT systems were "not adversely affected by the virus" because the company "immediately addressed the issue without incident."