Second computer worm 'hits Iran'

AFP ^ | April 25, 2011 | Unknown

[decimon]

TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran has been hit with new malicious software as part of cyber attacks against the country, a military officer told Mehr news agency on Monday without specifying the target.

"Certain characteristics about the 'Stars' virus have been identified, including that it is compatible with the (targeted) system," Gholam Reza Jalali, commander of the Iranian civil defence organisation, told the agency.

"In the initial stage, the damage is low and it is likely to be mistaken for governmental executable files," Jalali said, adding that Iranian experts were still investigating the full scope of the malware's abilities.

He did not say what kind of equipment the virus was targeting or when and how it had been spotted.

Tehran was hit with another computer worm, "Stuxnet," last year, reportedly designed to hurt the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear programme.

[edpc]

I like that there is an effort to hinder the process, but I worry about the unintended consequences with this type of engagement.

[TomGuy]

DarnIt.

They just have the worst luck.

Maybe they should install a Comodo Firewall program.

[stuartcr]

Sort of like collateral damage with civilians.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Second computer worm 'hits Iran'

Second one they know about or admit to. BTW, I heard more than rumors that some Cisco firewalls sold to the U.S. military with legitimate serial numbers and no signs of tampering had trapdoor malware installed that would have allowed an outsider access. (Not surprisingly, they were manufactured in China. Gotta wonder about how we let ourselves get in this predictament.) I wonder how well the Isrealis have infiltrated the Iranians supply chain and how much malware and other defective material they are feeding them.

[NamVet71MP]

I worry about the unintended consequences with this type of engagement.

Consequence like the entire world comes to the conclusion that they can not trust the operating systems and ad hoc computer/network hardware that come out of the USA? What a pity. Then let them come up with their own OS and computers... or stop using ours. Good luck with that Tehran!

[edpc]

More like the possiblilty it could adversely affect systems domestically.

[Noumenon]

“Cisco” - Spanish for “bend over”

[Diogenesis]

[ShadowAce]

[Calvin Locke]

Gotta wonder about how we let ourselves get in this predictament.

No need to wonder. Chinese donations to the Bill Clinton's 1996
campaign fund. Just ask John Glen. He helped block inquiries
into such matters.

Vince Foster's and Ron Brown's "unfortunate" deaths probably kept
people in line...

[NamVet71MP]

I still believe the four zero-day security vulnerabilities in Windows that make Stuxnet possible were not fumbled upon accidentally. They were intentionally placed in the drop. Could they be exploited for other reasons than the original attack vector? Sure. But, I already don’t trust Windows under normal conditions.

[rarestia]

some Cisco firewalls sold to the U.S. military with legitimate serial numbers and no signs of tampering had trapdoor malware installed that would have allowed an outsider access.

This is partially true. The issue came up during a QA by a governmental agency, and they traced it back to a specific manufacturer in China. As I recall, Cisco had snuffed the contract with them over other, uncited concerns.

I wouldn't put this past the Chi-comms. It's relatively easy to install your own open-source software on these devices, but often the "back doors" are hardware encoded and difficult to uncover unless you're sniffing ports and come across some strange traffic.

[lacrew]

Could be a rope-a-dope? Maybe their program is moving along just fine.

[ken in texas]

Probably made by Huawei.

[cashless]

What the Iranians need to do get that Madhi out of the well, dry his wet butt out, and get him working on this problem since they see him as the answer to all their problems. Can't believe their lack of faith. Would cause me to doubt whether he was who he said he was or just the real Satan impersonating a winner and not the loser whose future is guaranteed.

[decimon]

The Madhi is an apocalyptic character. He can’t save the world till we destroy it. Something like that.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

I doubt it. The Mad Mullah's are no different than any other dictatorial totalitarian regime. Hide everything bad and broadcast to the universe everything good, even if you have to invent it.

No. I'm of the opinion that if they're even admitting that there's a problem, then it's a REALLY serious problem and they got no idea what it's doing or what to do about it and they need our help with it.

Symantec needs to check their visitors logs for .ir domains again.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

It took them a year to admit that stuxnet had hit them and now six months after that "and said efforts to contain Stuxnet were still ongoing" according to this article.