Mystery Surrounds Cyber Missile That Crippled Iran's Nuclear Weapons Ambitions

[rayofreason]

Source: FOX News

In the 20th century, this would have been a job for James Bond.

The mission: Infiltrate the highly advanced, securely guarded enemy headquarters where scientists in the clutches of an evil master are secretly building a weapon that can destroy the world. Then render that weapon harmless and escape undetected.

But in the 21st century, Bond doesn't get the call. Instead, the job is handled by a suave and very sophisticated secret computer worm, a jumble of code called Stuxnet, which in the last year has not only crippled Iran's nuclear program but has caused a major rethinking of computer security around the globe.

Intelligence agencies, computer security companies and the nuclear industry have been trying to analyze the worm since it was discovered in June by a Belarus-based company that was doing business in Iran. And what they've all found, says Sean McGurk, the Homeland Security Department's acting director of national cyber security and communications integration, is a “game changer.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/26/secret-agent-crippled-irans-nuclear-ambitions/?test=latestnews

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Brilliant spectacular success. This gives the world breathing time and is much preferable to bombs taking out the Iranian centrifuges. Now if only the Iranian Green movement could unseat the Mullahs...

[Xipe Totec]

1. So, I'm wondering, how did this reporter learn so much?

And a Fox News reporter at that?

When they can hardly lift their ass off the couch to investigate what cockroaches are doing in the reporter's own kitchens.

[alfredo]

2. Because other sources have already reported it.

wired:

http://www.wired.com/search?query=Stuxnet&cx=010858178366868418930%3Afk33zkiunj8&x=0&y=0&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8

[Xipe Totec]

14. That explains a lot!

He probably didn't even mess up the ass groove on his couch!

:rofl:

[herbm]

3. The first indepth reporting from Fox I've seen since before W.

Great article and a great read. I hope there's a book in this somewhere. Thank you for posting this.

[truthisfreedom]

4. Sounds like propaganda.

[bemildred]

5. Yep.

Seems like we get humongous breakthroughs a couple times a week now.

[Posteritatis]

7. Let's be fair, we actually do these days

We're in a world where new things spring up both quickly and often.

[bemildred]

9. The word was "humongous", not "new".

We do indeed generate lots of "new" stuff, but they cannot all be "extraordinary", "game changers" etc.

[Posteritatis]

10. Not all, but certainly quite a few. (nt)

[bemildred]

12. Black Swans everywhere, eh? nt

[leveymg]

6. "Game changer" my ass. Compensation prize for the fact that the reactor at Bushehr has gone on line

despite all the sword rattling.

Cheez-itz.

[dballance]

8. Anything from FOXnoise is BS Propaganda

FOX is an arm of the government and both the Dems and the Repubs. All FOX does is tell people what they want to hear to reassure them our government is protecting them no matter that the government cannot. FOX is drivel for those who need it - weak-minded idiots.

[herbm]

17. This is the exception to the rule. Curiously who did you vote for? Tea Party

or "Libertarian" like Rand Paul? Or do you know of some honest Dems and Reps, cuase I do.

[herbm]

18. Another overly senstive touch pad duplication. I miss my mouse!

[Blue State Bandit]

11. Brilliant Success! Until it pops up at TMI, or on AMTRAK.

I'm just sayin'.

[Pavulon]

13. They dont run that model of controller

I would bet. It was targeted code, not script kiddie.

[bemildred]

16. Very sophisticated stuff, so they say.

The problem is that it's out there and no doubt adaptable to other uses.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

19. that wA MY FIRST THOUGHT TOO...HOW LONG BEFORE IT IS USED ON US,,,BLOWBACK IS ALWAYS A BITCH

[Jester Messiah]

22. I don't think the code used in the attack would be portable

Professional coder, here. If the article is accurate, the code used in the attack was highly specific to the hardware being targeted. It screwed up the speed at which the centrifuges ran, and lied to the monitor that reports centrifuge health. This is highly specialized code, it wouldn't function for any machines other than the specific make/model that it was written for.

Also, ease up on the caps lock, eh?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

23. you're correct ....

sorry, the caplock was a wayward pinky...a mistake...they happen

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/11/stuxnet-clues/

German researcher Ralph Langner was the first to suggest that the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran was the Stuxnet target. Frank Rieger, chief technology officer at Berlin security firm GSMK, believes it’s more likely that the target in Iran was a nuclear facility in Natanz. The Bushehr reactor is designed to develop non-weapons-grade atomic energy, while the Natanz facility, a centrifuge plant, is designed to enrich uranium and presents a greater risk for producing nuclear weapons.

The new information released by Symantec last week supports this speculation.

As Symantec points out in its paper, frequency-converter drives are used to control the speed of another device -– for example, a motor at a manufacturing facility or power plant. Increase the frequency, and the motor increases in speed. In the case of Stuxnet, the malware is searching for a process module made by Profibus and Profinet International that is communicating with at least 33 frequency-converter drives made by either the Iranian firm or the Finnish firm.

[HisTomness]

15. Poor Sourcing

Please do not run info from disreputable sources as news.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

21. agreed about Faux but, Wired is not a poor source though....

http://www.wired.com/search?query=Stuxnet&cx=010858178366868418930%3Afk33zkiunj8&x=0&y=0&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8#905

[fadedrose]

20. wow eom

[breadandwine]

24. Kick. So I can keep reading about this.

...

[breadandwine]

25. Another kickypooh.

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[breadandwine]

26. Another kick to keep the info flowing on this. Hope to hear more.

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[breadandwine]

27. Kickety doo dah. Kickety ay....

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