nuclear-news

Heavy metal music: ACDC strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities

Iran nuclear facilities ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC malware http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2012/07/iranian-nuclear-facilities-thu.html Jacob Aron, technology reporter  In 2010, Iran’s nuclear facilities were infiltrated by Stuxnet, the centrifuge-wrecking malware allegedly cooked up by the US government.

Now they seem to have been hit again by a bizarre attack forcing nuclear plant workstations to pump the song Thunderstruck by heavy metal band AC/DC through the speakers at full
volume.

News of the attack comes from Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer
at Finnish computer security firm F-Secure, who says he recently
received a series of emails from a scientist working at the Atomic
Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI):

“I am writing you to inform you that our nuclear program has once
again been compromised and attacked by a new worm with exploits which
have shut down our automation network at Natanz and another facility
Fordo near Qom.”

The Iranian scientist goes on to say that they believe the attackers
used Metasploit, a common hacking tool which provides a variety of
ways to penetrate supposedly secure networks. “There was also some
music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the
middle of the night with the volume maxed out,” says the scientist. “I
believe it was playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC.”

While the US military has used heavy metal music as a weapon in the
past it seems unlikely that a Stuxnet-like stealth attack would
announce its presence with a few blasting power chords, suggesting the
hit is more likely the work of a thrill-seeking hacker. Hypponen says
he has been unable to verify any details of the attack, but has
confirmed that the emails were sent and received from within the AEOI.

July 25, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties