Cyber dimension of energy and critical infrastructure security; Stuxnet attack

The cyber environment is expanding day by day and cyber-attacks are spreading internationally. In this way, the cyber environment, which is among the elements of modern warfare with the changing dimension of warfare, affects the security of critical energy infrastructures and can cause national and international crises. This study focuses on the effects of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures on national and international security regarding the cyber dimension of energy security. In this context, based on the Stuxnet case, the study examines the attacks faced by the energy sector in cyberspace, within the framework of security theories, as a tool of foreign policy. The increase in cyber-attacks and their consequences point to the importance of cyber security of critical infrastructures. The study examines cyber threats and cyber security methods in the energy sector, information security vulnerabilities used in the sector and the dangers caused by these vulnerabilities. The reasons for the Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran's nuclear facilities (which has not yet been officially claimed) carried out by a joint operation of the United States and Israel, the reasons for Iran's inability to prevent the attack, whether the nuclear threat of the Cold War still persists, and the reasons for Iran's need to increase its nuclear capacity, despite Iran's attempts to contain it with sanctions, constitute the research questions of the study. The fact that the Stuxnet attack has not been sufficiently studied in Turkey and the dynamism of developments in the fields of cyberspace, security and energy are the reasons for the selection of the thesis topic. The inadequacy of local studies and the multidisciplinary nature of the study show that the study has a unique quality.