World

Report: Computer Worm Sets Back Iranian Nuke Program by 2 Years

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Stuxnet virus, a computer worm that has attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, has set back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by two years. A “top German computer consultant” tells the Post that “it will take two years for Iran to get back on track.”

“This was nearly as effective as a military strike,” the German said, “but even better since there are no fatalities and no full-blown war. From a military perspective, this was a huge success.”

According to Langer, Iran’s best move would be to throw out all of the computers that have been infected by the worm, which he said was the most “advanced and aggressive malware in history.” But, he said, even once all of the computers were thrown out, Iran would have to ensure that computers used by outside contractors were also clean of Stuxnet.

“It is extremely difficult to clean up installations from Stuxnet, and we know that Iran is no good in IT [information technology] security, and they are just beginning to learn what this all means,” he said. “Just to get their systems running again they have to get rid of the virus, and this will take time, and then they need to replace the equipment, and they have to rebuild the centrifuges at Natanz and possibly buy a new turbine for Bushehr.”

Recent news reports have suggested Iran is still working to contain the damage of the Stuxnet worm. In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, reported that Iran had suspended work, likely as a result of the virus’ damage.

Perhaps the only way to rid their system of the Stuxnet worm is to discard all infected computer equipment, including outside computers that may be infected.

There has been speculation that Israel’s Military Intelligence Unit 8200 was a possible source of the Stuxnet worm, as well as the United States.

Widespread speculation has named Israel’s Military Intelligence Unit 8200, known for its advanced Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities, as the possible creator of the software, as well as the United States, but neither country has claimed any responsibility for the cyber attack. Others have suspected China may also have had a hand in the Stuxnet’s creation, but no rumor can be completely confirmed.

Comments (53)

1 2
  • MidAmerican
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 10:20am

    Indeed a dandy stealth weapon. Like all great weapons however, when it falls into the wrong hands???

    Report Post »  
  • sarg356
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 10:00am

    Daisycutters could set back Iran much longer.

    Report Post »  
  • Ed in Lebec
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:22am

    IF TRUE, seems a pimple-faced hacker in a basement somewhere is more effective than all of Obama’s personal charisma and negotiations.

    Report Post » OH, I Get It!  
  • o280949
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:53am

    Would like to buy a drink for those who pulled this off. I‘m sure the technical details are so far above my head that I’d not understand a word of explanation but as they say – results are more important than words!!

    Report Post »  
    • wash1776
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 12:43pm

      HERE!HERE! 0280949! One can only hope it really is messed up that long and longer; but, I take whatever we can get.

      Report Post »  
  • green_manalishi
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:19am

    I agree with REALITY cHECK, the virus was problematic but the story by the Jeruselem Post is a smoke screen to take the threat of a A Nuclear Iran off the public conciousness so that the politicians can , and Iran can, go about their business as usual. If Iran and their supporters can get people to believe that they are defeated, they can continue unobserved. Obama would benefit, Iran benefits, the leftist politicians in Isreal benefit. It doesn’t take that long to purge your entire system. Remember two years ago when “THE MEDIA” told us Iran had no plans to enrich uranium. You can be as stupid as you want but momma didn’t raise any fools.

    Report Post »  
  • wash1776
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:17am

    AAWWWW!!!! Those poor leaders over there. What a setback. HURRAH!!! WE CAN ONLY HOPE THIS WORKS OUT THAT WAY! OOPS! Maybe Obummer will go to their rescue. THAT WOULD BE JUST ANOTHER ONE OF HIS STEPS TO RUIN THIS COUNTRY

    Report Post »  
  • libertylady2
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:11am

    The Lord will protect Israel, even when no one else will. Watch Russia and Venezula step in and offer an assist to Iran. Pray seriously.

    Report Post » libertylady2  
  • emertz8413
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:47am

    If it‘s the truth it’s good news. I wonder how this administration could use this as an excuse to “secure” our internet so that can’t happen here?!

    Report Post »  
  • APatriotFirst
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:22am

    Could be Iran themselves…..they screw up big time, and have to say a worm did it. So now they can have time to find their mess up. And blame it all on US or Israel. Pretty good plan.

    Report Post »  
    • APatriotFirst
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:25am

      Or…..there is NO problem at all, and Iran is just buying time to work their madness in secret.
      Israel needs to be prepared, which they always are……………..

      Report Post »  
  • BetsyRoss1513
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:21am

    I do have concerns that they will figure out what happened, get things back online, then hit everyone who had anything to do with it. They‘re like kids who found Dad’s guns. Chilling.

    Report Post » BetsyRoss1513  
  • po-boy
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 6:57am

    Now it’s time to finish them off for good. Send Obama, Pelosi and Reid over to run their government.

    Report Post »  
  • Conserving Ink
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 6:39am

    First computer was just a calculator – 1940. If we really wanted to set them back we’d give them the services of Global Warming scientists. They’ve already set science back 20 years.
    __________________________________________________________________________
    http://conserving-ink.blogspot.com/2010/12/political-flocking.html

    Report Post » Conserving Ink  
  • RepubliCorp
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 6:01am

    Manhattan Project. started in 1939………. did we have computers?

    Report Post » RepubliCorp  
  • New-American-Saviors
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:03am

    Just makes them more Desperate and Rogue. An open market for nukes from our (FRIENDS) !

    Report Post »  
  • Passerby
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 3:49am

    The Intel CPU’s and Windows are designed in Israel, and often the actual burned wafers manufactured there.

    Good luck never ever having anything that ever contacts Windows or Intel (etc.) ever contacting their control system.

    The best part is they didn’t just blow it up, they made it act erratically, driving the Iranians nuts and getting nothing done for a couple years.

    Report Post » Passerby  
  • milo
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:47am

    SOMEBODY deserves a medal or two.

    Report Post »  
  • FlatFoot
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:43am

    Nice work by whomever they may be. But this is just a small setback for Iran and their psychotic theocracy. I wonder what the next step will be once Iran gets back on track and gets everything back on line again. Do what we should have done years ago and obliterate their nuclear ambitions all but permanently? Bombing them ‘back into the stone age’ will never work. They’ve never left the stone age like the rest of the mud hut dwelling blood-thirsty savages they call their friends. They’ve merely used their opposable thumbs, and their oil wealth, to adapt an ability to use other people’s and countries talents and products.

    In the meantime, Iran and its allies have more time to modernize and build up their arsenals of far reaching missiles, defenses, and other weapons for when that time comes… and it is definitely going to come. Israel is going to get clobbered hard no matter what happens, but Iran lobbing nukes will make that clobbering substantially more severe. All this *****-footing around the inevitable all out decimation of Iran’s nuclear ambitions is merely giving Iran more time to prepare for their inevitable reprisal. It is stupid to believe that Iran will somehow ‘come to their senses’. The Iranian mullah’s and their Ayatollah want this with all their black hearts and savage blood-thirsty souls, and no amount of benign computer malware is going to stop it from happening.

    Report Post » FlatFoot  
  • RealityCheck
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:42am

    Seriously?
    1. Like they don’t have the $ to buy new computers.
    2. Like they don’t have the $ to buy an I.T. dept.
    3. Common sense would tell a normal person anyone smart enough to play with Nuclear technology is smart enough to fix or replace PC’s ( like buy new hard drives and pull the internet plug).
    4. This article is the biggest load of B.S.

    Come on now, lets try and act like we have IQ‘s above the 30’s. I wish it were true but no way am I believing this.

    Report Post »  
    • Nvrforget
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:47am

      An unnamed German said it. And as we all know, Germans are never wrong. Especially unnamed ones. It just doesn’t happen.

      Report Post »  
    • scaldisnoel
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:11am

      @realitycheck

      The article isn‘t saying that they don’t have the money or knowledge to do the replacement of computers and parts. It’s just that for such sophisticated equipment, it takes a long time to do it, because nearly every piece of equipment they have has been infected and is either damaged or effectively acting as a carrier. Also, there are very few people with the knowledge of how to do the repairs and replacements for equipment like centrifuges and turbines, so it takes a long time. The beauty and danger of a worm like this version stuxnet is that it:
      1) Transfers itself from one computer or processor to another without being detected, either via network, or via something as simple as a flash drive. I’m simplifying it a bit, but all you need is one person to accidentally (or intentionally) plug a flash drive that has been infected into a computer on any network that controls the equipment in question, and you end up having to start the repair and cleanup process all over again.
      2) Is very precisely targeted to damage equipment only with very specific characteristics, so that equipment that is not a target can act as a carrier, but suffer no damage, and as a result, doesn’t send up a red flag.
      3) Causes very subtle damage that is not instantly catastrophic, so it is not obvious that something is wrong until it is too late.

      The turbines and centrifuges have parts that are hard to get and very expensive. Those parts include both the on-board processors that keep the equipment calibrated and running correctly, and the hardware itself (bearings, motors, etc.). You don’t just keep an unlimited number of spares on the shelf for either of those categories of parts. Think of it as being analogous to having a very unique sports car that has a key component break. It is nearly impossible to get a hold of the parts. You also need a specially-trained technician to do it right. However, there are only a limited number of technicians with that training in the whole world.

      Countries like Iran, that have not developed the technology in-house are very reliant on companies and people from outside the country, so they are very vulnerable. One additional problem they have is that one of the key scientists in charge of the stuxnet cleanup was assassinated, and there was an attempted assassination on another one. Also, they were apparently very lax on their security protocols. Think in terms of how lax U.S. security was in preventing the information that was given to wikileaks getting out. Iran was equally lax in preventing the worm from getting in.

      There is not one element of this story that isn’t plausible. I’m not saying that I know for a fact that every word in the article is true. However, nothing about it is the least bit unrealistic.

      Report Post »  
    • End The Fed
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:33am

      It just might be a big load of BS. But I do know there is much more than installing new hardware, and I guarantee they were not plugged into the Internet at the facility level. Data retrieval and program reconfiguration can take an extremely long time after getting hit by a worm. A basic simple  relational database would take days to reconfigure if workstations and the back up servers were corrupted by a viral worm. Also, there several ways a worm can get into a private network or Intranet. 

      Not trying to change your belief – just saying that it is possible and conceivable. It might be BS, but not because of the reasons you give. Just a reality check. 

      Report Post » End The Fed  
    • diablosho
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:51am

      Nuclear technology is not that complicated. The hardest part is obtaining the radioactive material; The concept is not complicated. However, the concept of a computer virus attacking computer hardware, and hiding/residing in every nook and cranny, and then replicating itself as you remove it from other places—That’s complicated! Not to mention civilians‘ PC’s are infected as well (without even knowing it, as the virus only attacked certain types of processors), thus when contractors connect to the Nuke Network, it starts all over again. It won’t take them 2 years to figure out what to do, it’ll be 2 years to get it under control, without any more do-overs! Stall tactics!

      Report Post »  
  • ADDICTED TO TRUTH
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:37am

    Aw. Poor Iran. Too bad so sad.

    All we can do now is pray that WikiLeaks is not in possession of any cables that discuss this…..

    Report Post » ADDICTED TO TRUTH  
  • End The Fed
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:28am

    This is great news if it is true. If Iran wants nukes so bad, let’s send them a few – deliver them straight to some of their military installations. 

    End The Fed  
    • rojotx
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:40am

      Smile, that would be a nice Christmas present!

      Report Post » rojotx  
    • End The Fed
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 3:14am

      Oh yeah, I forgot about Christmas. Do you think they‘d be disappointed when they realize they won’t be able to reverse engineer them? 

      Report Post » End The Fed  
  • Moment of Clarity
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:18am

    welcome to the age of cyber-war

    Report Post »  
    • proudinfidel54
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:43pm

      Maybe when they complete their warhead, Israel can make it launch against Saudi or Lebanon…lol

      Report Post » proudinfidel54  
  • smamere
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:08am

    Israelis are rowing their own boat until we get a new helmsman in the White House. They realize that the current administration is useless, if not an impediment to their security.
    Score: Israel-1
    Iran-0
    Obama- ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct

    Report Post » smamere  
    • NJartificer
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 3:43am

      LOL Thats just to funny…….. SMAMERE gets an hbo special

      Report Post »  
  • rojotx
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 1:47am

    I don’t believe it! Just more crud to take our eyes off the Prize, stop their nuclear proliferation!

    http://bcast.eamped.com

    Report Post » rojotx  
  • vennoye
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 1:47am

    You know, you just have to LOVE this!!!

    Report Post » vennoye  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:42am

      We didnt have computers when we made our A-Bomb ….think about that
      This sounds like Obama BS to me

      RepubliCorp  
  • Quad-rip-legic
    Posted on December 15, 2010 at 1:47am

    Oooooo no! ;)

    Report Post » Quad-rip-legic  
    • bcbgh
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 2:57am

      why can’t they use this virus with WikiLeaks!

      Report Post »  
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 3:20am

      a computer worm that has attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, has set back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by two years. A “top German computer consultant” tells the Post that “it will take two years for Iran to get back on track.”
      ——————————

      So they are back at the level they were when Obama took office.
      Also by the time Obama leaves office, they’ll be ready to go kaboom .
      Now isn’t that something
      :D

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • Polwatcher
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:32am

      A little good news now and then is great news.

      Report Post »  
    • guyperram
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 6:54am

      Since Barry’s crew would not do what is necessary, the Mosad did what needed to be done. One of the smallest countries in the world has more guts than king kong. Of course the Jewish people do know what real repression was like, and will defend themselves against these people.
      The hate mongers such as Al Sharpton and crew have no idea what a pogrom really is. They play to those that do not know real history, using those that also have no idea of history.

      Report Post »  
    • Independent Tess
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 7:21am

      Is this true or just dis-information to make us relax and look elsewhere?
      Hmmmnnnn……..

      Independent Tess  
    • Bad Thunder
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 8:28am

      NEXT….now how about a 2 year setback with maybe a congress version of stuxnet………

      Report Post »  
    • KICKILLEGALSOUT
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:03am

      I agree with Independent Tess, why are we so naive to believe this is true. Has any thought that they might be LYING and saying they have been attacked and in chaos and therefore buy themselves some time to continue along another 2 years with no pressure! Remember always challenge what you hear. The Wikileaks has taught us that the government is and has been lying to us, if our government is lying to us why would you even be stupid enough to believe what a foreign government is saying?

      KICKILLEGALSOUT  
    • proudinfidel54
      Posted on December 15, 2010 at 5:40pm

      Soooo this puts them back on schedule in 2012 hmmm.

      Report Post » proudinfidel54  
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