[servantboy777]

This is nothing more than propaganda to delay an attack on their facilities or to deceive other intelligence agencies.

The virus can attack systems that control the logistics.

The equipment would not be harmed.

Besides, these people are not as ignorant as the media suggest. It is the folks listening and putting validity in these stories I question.

The Iranians have contingencies for operational systems. Technical experts from various countries such as China and Russia have trained these guys.

Mossad is temporarily causing a hiccup for the Persians, but rest assured, their plans are moving forward.

I wouldn't at all be surprised to hear the announcement in the new year of a nuclear armed Iran with all the trimmings of military parade and so forth.

So, how many times over the last few decades has our intelligence fallen down on the job and have been taken completely off guard?

Let me help....dozens of times.

[steve86]

The equipment would not be harmed.

The centrifuges were harmed by overspeed and uncontrolled speed changes. Anything that spins fast is very vulnerable to this.

[hinckley buzzard]

Between the State Department and the CIA it's a wonder we have survived.

[gandalftb]

correctamundo

The only possibility of harm is to the SCADA controls of the inverters that power the magnetic motors on the centrifuges. They could be programmed to send erratic voltages causing the rpms to vary.

That would decrease the efficiency of the extraction but would not harm the centrifuge at all.

Israeli PR is in high gear as usual, thinking the world is too ignorant to see through the bs. Yes, I would love to see the Iranian centrifuges destroyed, but no, this is all wishful and useless thinking.

[Robe]

The virus can attack systems that control the logistics.

The equipment would not be harmed.

I believe you may be mistaken , the virus attacks Siemans software which monitors / controls the speed of the enrichment centrifuges. It "spun" up the Motors to beyond their "RED" lines therefore damaging them

[wbarmy]

This is no mere hiccup. If the virus actually attacked the controls for the motors, they could have caused massive internal damage to the motors. In the US, computerized lathes and other equipment have to be monitored to ensure there are no “runaway” events which destroy very sensitive equipment. Since these centrifuges are very sophisticated, I am sure that they were well and truly gnarled up.

The Iranians ability to replace, repair and reload these machines is probably very limited and will put a huge crimp in their plans.

As for Mossad, they might have got the virus in there, but I will bet money to donuts that the plan started over here and was financed and run by the USA.

And that OP started in the Bush administration.

[MediaMole]

The actual virus infected Windows systems used to program the industrial controllers. The virus then used those systems to put a rootkit into the actual industrial control systems, and reprogramed those systems with instructions that couldn’t be seen by the operators.

So, Stuxnet implanted programming into the actual systems that controlled the centrifuges. Apparently, the instructions caused the motors to run erratically, running over speed and slowing suddenly to cause physical damage.

Some of the equipment could very well have suffered permanent physical damage.