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Recommend Is the Stuxnet Worm a State-Directed Cyber-Attack on Iran? (Email)

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A few weeks ago we noticed a report on Stuxnet, "a worm that targets critical infrastructure companies doesn't just steal data, it leaves a back door that could be used to remotely and secretly control plant operations". While the report on a threat to hijack refineries and power plants mentioned Iran and India as targets but it also raised the possibility of US energy companies.

In following weeks, however, chatter arose that the worm had been developed by a state --- given its complexity, it was considered to be beyond an individual or even private group --- to cripple Iran's nuclear programme, whether through the Bushehr energy plant or the Natanz uranium enrichment complex.

We refrained from coverage, primarily because we thought the story of Tehran as the target for Stuxnet might be a psychological operation rather than a statement of fact --- after all, Iran's worry that it could be the focus of cyber-warfare might be as damaging as an actual operation.

Yesterday, however the scene changed. For the first time, Iranian officials said that Iran's industries had been infected by the worm; one minister gave a figure of 30,000.


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