Stuxnet Behind The Closure Of Iran’s Nuclear Plant?

Iran, the country which is always in the middle of controversy because of its nuclear program, has something new to worry about! Its Bushehr nuclear reactor, which is now under construction, is experiencing repeated delays in its plans.


Russian-Built Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran

A leading German security expert Ralph Langner, was discussing this issue at the prestigious TED conference in the Southern California city of Long Beach, and claimed that the infamous Stuxnet, a windows computer worm, could be the reason behind it!

The United States has been constantly warning Iran for its nuclear program since years. But Iran has always been firm on its stance and the constant warnings haven’t changed its attitude. The Bushehr nuclear reactor which is under construction and is built by Russians is a big concern for the US and there were a few rumors some months ago which said that Israel could be behind the cyber attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. A study of the spread of Stuxnet by Symantec showed that the most of the computers affected by Stuxnet are in Iran (almost 60%).

Stuxnet is a computer worm that was discovered in June 2010 (though it was developed about a year ago!). Industrial systems have always been the target on the hackers’ list, and many worms have been created till now. But the Stuxnet is a very powerful worm and it attacks the PLC root-kit and spies on the industrial system.

Initially, it was thought that Stuxnet was developed just to spy and steal the industrial secrets. But further intense research revealed a shocking truth that the worm actually tries to find very specific Siemens settings! It is alleged that the Stuxnet has been designed especially to target Siemens’ Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.

The PLCs are used to control a wide variety of automated systems. The Stuxnet is so well designed that it doesn’t harm the computer and searches only for the specific Siemens software and if the software is not found, it makes itself inert without harming the computer. The security firm Symantec believes that it would have taken a team of around 5 to 10 developers and a period of six months to create this worm.

Analysts examining the Stuxnet believe that it could have been used to damage centrifuges that play crucial role in the enrichment of Uranium for nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

The Stuxnet attack has come to be known as most sophisticated attack till now and there are many speculations about who is behind the attack. Earlier this week, Iran's Interior Ministry ruled out about any such possibility and blamed the problem is the fuel rods to be the cause of delay. But its for sure that the Cyber war is turning ugly day-by-day and the world must start preparing now against such attacks! Stuxnet is a history now, there are many more to be created and to be discovered!