stuxnet returns to bushehr reactor

Russia warns Iran too dangerous to bring Bushehr reactor online. Sergei Kiriyenko, Rosatom chief (Russian Nuclear Energy Commission), complained directly to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Stuxnet malworm shouldn't be ignored and warned of potential calamity. An article at Debkafile, "Stuxnet hits Bushehr again, Russia warns of nuclear explosion," can only be called ominous in tone. "The impression the Rosatom chief had gained from his staff at Bushehr was that the Iranian teams had been ordered to activate the reactor at any price to prove that the Islamic Republic had beaten Stuxnet. This concern overrode security." Ahmadinejad ordered the reactor shut down after the Russian departed as reason prevailed on this day. Dimitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO, warned the Stuxnet virus is very toxic and dangerous like "explosive mines".

There seems little hope for the Bushehr reactor. Are Windows computers designed to be targeted by the agenda? It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. Putin recognized the danger by ordering the replacement of Windows with Linux in Russia, just last month.

son of stuxnet?

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was advised, last week, variant of Stuxnet poses threat to critical infrastructure, reports Christian Science Monitor. Cybersecurity experts believe modified Son of Stuxnet" could target wider range of control systems. Many facilities use a combination of Windows operating & Siemens control systems like Iran's nuclear facilities, attacked by the computer worm this past summer. "The concern for the future of Stuxnet is that the underlying code could be adapted to target a broader range of control systems in any number of critical infrastructure sectors," said Sean McGurk, acting director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at the US Department of Homeland Security.

stuxnet remains problem for iran nuke sites

Cybersecurity experts in the United States report an increase in internet traffic to their websites from Iran. The experts add there appears to be, also, strenuous efforts to hide the traffic's origin. A Fox News article, "Stuxnet Worm Still Out of Control at Iran's Nuclear Sites, Experts Say", infers from the internet traffic there are still problems. The article describes the Stuxnet worm as "...equipped with a warhead that targeted and took over the controls of the centrifuge systems at Iran’s uranium processing center in Natanz, and it had a second warhead that targeted the massive turbine at the nuclear reactor in Bashehr". Ralph Langner, a German expert, believes Iranians need to throw out their computers but adds they can't, "they will just continually reinfect themselves".

stuxnet role in stoppage at natanz?

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report says uranium enrichment halted at Natanz facility in Iran on at least one day this month.  Space Daily website article, "Stuxnet could add to Iran's enrichment problems: experts" suggests it's experts' belief Stuxnet computer worm, which infected the facility's computer system months ago, may be contributing to stoppage?  Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies cites, on the other hand, chronic technical problems, "the Stuxnet malware appears to have contributed to these problems, but the P-1 centrifuges have intrinsic problems anyway."  Is this an early battle in cyberwarfare or just broken outmoded tech?