Computer worm attack

[Jeffersons Ghost]

Iran Confirms Stuxnet Worm Halted Centrifuges
Earlier Iran denied that the computer worm affected its nuclear program

(CBS/AP) Iran's president has confirmed for the first time that a computer worm affected centrifuges in the country's uranium enrichment program.

Iran has previously denied the Stuxnet worm, which experts say is calibrated to destroy centrifuges, had caused any damage, saying they uncovered it before it could have any effect.

But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said it "managed to create problems for a limited number of our centrifuges." Speaking to a press conference Monday, he said the problems were resolved.

Earlier in November, U.N. inspectors found Iran's enrichment program temporarily shut down, according to a recent report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The extent and cause of the shutdown were not known, but speculation fell on Stuxnet.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/29/world/main7100197.shtml

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Seems as if legal action could be taken.... then again if you don't

know where it came from... coulda been some kids in Idaho I suppose.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. more likely a 16 year old from the Netherlands

[zoechen]

3. F-Secure FAQ regarding Stuxnet

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002040.html


Frankley, this does seem to be state sponsered.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. Israel is a country, not a "state," right? They don't want Iran to have Nuclear weapons

[zoechen]

5. Well...

The best explanation I have heard so far is that the code was supplied by the U.S. to Israel.

The Mossad would have the resources to inject that code onto home pc's used by workers at Bushehr which would then be transferd via a flash drive or somesuch onto the scada systems at the Bushehr nuke plant.

[zoechen]

6. BTW...

I think that since the code mutates and rewrites itself it was released into the wild for a period of time before the Mossad aquired a copy of it to use.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

8. The Mossad is a VERY effective agency

[zoechen]

7. Also, FWIW...

Here is Symantecs white paper, to be delivered at the Virus Bulletin 2010, that discusses the Stuxnet worm.

http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/media/security_response/whitepapers/w32_stuxnet_dossier.pdf