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Iran’s uranium enrichment plant the likely target of Stuxnet worm

the worm that has infected Iranian nuclear computers was meant to sabotage the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz –

‘Computer virus in Iran actually targeted larger nuclear facility’ Haaretz Daily Newspaper By Yossi Melman, 28 Sept 10, New analysis, based on the characteristic behavior of the Stuxnet worm, contradicts earlier assessments that the target was the nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Iranian spokesmen, led by the director of the Bushehr facility, had confirmed that Bushehr’s computers were infected by the virus.

Experts on Iran and computer security specialists yesterday voiced a growing conviction that the worm that has infected Iranian nuclear computers was meant to sabotage the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz – where the centrifuge operational capacity has dropped over the past year by 30 percent.

The new analysis, based on the characteristic behavior of the Stuxnet worm, contradicts earlier assessments that the target was the nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Iranian spokesmen, led by the director of the Bushehr facility, had confirmed that Bushehr’s computers were infected by the virus. But the director added that while senior staffers’ computers were affected, the damage to the reactor’s functioning was very limited and would not delay its launch, set for next month.

The Bushehr reactor, however, is considered less of a security threat than Natanz by the intelligence communities in both Israel and the United States…….The recent revelations about the Stuxnet worm might provide new insights into the problems encountered by the enrichment facility. German computer expert Frank Rieger wrote in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Sunday that Wikileaks, a website specializing in information leaked from government agencies, reported in June on a mysterious accident at Natanz that paralyzed part of the facility. Rieger now thinks the Wikileaks report was connected to the Stuxnet worm. He noted that whoever developed the virus refined its programming to allow it to damage small, sensitive components like regulators, valves and pressure gauges, all of which are found in centrifuges…….The prevailing assessment over the past few days has been that Stuxnet was developed by a highly capable intelligence organization, with Israel’s Military Intelligence Unit 8200 and the Mossad being named as suspects.

‘Computer virus in Iran actually targeted larger nuclear facility’ – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

September 28, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, uranium