Yes. Look at stuxnet 0.5 (year: 2005-07)

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/26/symantec-u...

And stuxnet 1.0 (2009-2010)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet

http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/the-real-story-of-...

This kind of stuff takes years and has a life of its own.

Crossing administrations, party lines, and cabinet members. The nexus of the Pentagon, CIA, and State departments...has a lot of moving parts...and they can't fire all the career professionals after every election.