'Stuxnet specifically targeted Iranian nuclear program' (New Details Revealed)

The German computer security expert who first reported that the Stuxnet worm was designed to attack targets in Iran said the virus specifically attacked the country's nuclear program, in a report posted Friday.

In his analysis, Ralph Langner said Stuxnet contained two distinct "digital warheads," specifically designed to attack military targets: Uranium enrichment plants and the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Langner said that the portion of the worm that targeted Uranium enrichment plants manipulated the speeds of mechanical parts in the enrichment process, which would ultimately "result in cracking the rotor, thereby destroying the centrifuge."

He said the strategic importance of such an attack is that it was able to "attack and destroy centrifuge facilities that are unknown to IAEA inspectors and the world," saying that this was likely the main goal of the worm's first "warhead."

The second "warhead" targeted the Bushehr nuclear plant, according to Langner's report. Explaining how the program was designed to work, he notes that this segment of code had no relation to the first "warhead."

He purported that the second segment was intended to attack the external turbine controller of the Bushehr plant, a 150 foot "chunk of metal," that could "destroy the turbine as effectively as an air strike."

More than a generation later, attempts to lock the barn door are made. LOL Root kitting and over-writing values and whole segments in a PLC's flash code.

[Rhetorically asking:]Who'd have thunk that in 1977 when PLC's were first used, and that today almost 35 years later, widely used and extremely efficient PLC's would be the targets of worm attacks ?

LOL

What’s the name of the virus that shut down our nuclear missile silos?

If you are referring to the communications disruption between silos that occurred last month in which communications equipment which relies on PLCs and seemingly could not communicate with one another, the prevailing claim now is that it's being caused by ~~weather balloons~~ ... err ... UFO's. Sorry. When the general public is treated like idiots, we tend to resent it.

Interestingly, the "enterprise" that created Conficker C P2P worm is still being looked for by the security community in hopes of establishing a dialogue with them. LOL. I'm quite certain that the situation with the Stuxnet worm which targeted nuke facilities at Bushehr and other nuke locations around the globe is not over, by a long shot. I figure the Persians will try to rebuild those facilities and hopefully will spend massive sums of money and possibly go into debt in doing so. Without mentioning too much of my hypothesized game-plan, Stuxnet may have provided cover for something else down the road. All I can do is hope so. The thought of Ahmadenijad getting the Ceausescu treatment by his own people, almost gives me a woody.

Its pretty obvious even to old, worn-out observers like me, that there likely are binary, trinity and larger segmented forms of various OS worms in the wild that now exist.

Sorry to be as broad as this but there are so many of nasty things out there that are malevolent.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.