Monday, May 2, 2011

Stuxnet Prevents Iran from Opening Bushehr

An internal report issued by Iran's intelligence services warns that due to the Stuxnet computer worm, attempts to start the Bushehr nuclear power plant could lead to the country's entire electronic grid being shut down. Iran is blaming the US and Israel.

The report, written by the Iranian Passive Defense Organization, chaired by Revolutionary Guards Gen. Gholam-Reza Jalali, states that Stuxnet has so thoroughly infected the operating systems at the Bushehr power plant that work on the plant must be halted indefinitely.

If the Bushehr power plant were to go on line, “the internal directives programmed into the structure of the virus can actually bring the generators and electrical power grid of the country to a sudden halt, creating a “heart attack type of work stoppage,” the report states.

The report was obtained by the “Green Liaison news group,” Iranian journalists affiliated with presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi, and was translated into English by Reza Kahlili, a former Revolutionary Guards officer who spied on behalf of the CIA for over a decade while inside Iran.

The report claims that Stuxnet “has automatic updating capabilities in order to track and pirate information,” and that it “can destroy system hardware step-by-step."

Gen. Jalali has held two press conferences in recent weeks where he has given tantalizing glimpses into the conclusions of his top-secret task force to analyze and defuse the Stuxnet computer worm.

At one, he blamed Israel for collaborating in developing the worm and claimed that his experts had traced “reports” sent by the worm back to Texas.

“Enemies have attacked industrial infrastructure and undermined industrial production through cyberattacks. This was a hostile action against our country,” Jalali said. “If it had not been confronted in time, much material damage and human loss could have been inflicted.”

Oh - remember that new worm called Stars I reported on last week? Here's a hint of what it might do....

On Monday, Jalali claimed that his intelligence unit, which merges computer analysts from the intelligence ministry and the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service, had found a new computer virus attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities called “Stars.”

He called “Stars” an “espionage virus,” and said that it copied government files and was difficult to destroy in its early stages.

Read the whole thing. Heh.

Labels: Bushehr, Iranian nuclear program, Natanz, Reza Khalili, Stars, Stuxnet

posted by Carl in Jerusalem

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