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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant pwned?

2010-09-22

The Israelis may have used the computer worm stuxnet to shut down the Bushehr plant. If so Iran is neutralized, and their quest for an atomic bomb is a pipe dream.

John

Thank you, John, for the heads up. Normally we wouldn't publish an article without a URL link, but this is important enough that I googled "Iran Bushehr stuxnet"; I found lots of articles dated yesterday -- the computer world seems a bit excited about the subject. Now the headline links to a Christian Science Monitor general article on the subject. For those of you with a more technical background, try this article from PCWorld.

I'm not sure, though, that Iran's nuclear bomb program is neutralized, given their secret uranium refinement sites hidden around the country, including the one dug into a mountain above Qom, but this would certainly be a strong blow, if true. Not to mention the concern it should raise in the minds of any of Israel's enemies with computers, whether connected to the internet or only using memory sticks to transfer information.

Posted by:Phort Thaiting4979

#6 all of your bases are belong to us

Posted by: linker 2010-09-22 22:21

#5 Are running a nuke plant on pirated software?

Posted by: Uleger Barnsmell4617 2010-09-22 21:05

#4 Coincidentally, Fox reported today that Russia has decided not to deliver the SA-300 missiles to Iran.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/22/russias-medvedev-bans-export-sophisticated-anti-aircraft-systems-iran/

Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2010-09-22 20:21

#3 A couple of extracts from that PCWorld article.

First, the award for "Best Use of Understatement" goes to this paragraph (emphasis added):

Langner thinks that it's possible that Bushehr may have been infected through the Russian contractor that is now building the facility, JSC AtomStroyExport. Recently AtomStroyExport had its Web site hacked, and some of its Web pages are still blocked by security vendors because they are known to host malware. This is not an auspicious sign for a company contracted with handling nuclear secrets.

Ya think?

This is what the engineers call "elegant":

One of the things that Langner discovered is that when Stuxnet finally identifies its target, it makes changes to a piece of Siemens code called Organizational Block 35. This Siemens component monitors critical factory operations -- things that need a response within 100 milliseconds. By messing with Operational Block 35, Stuxnet could easily cause a refinery's centrifuge to malfunction, but it could be used to hit other targets too, Byres said. "The only thing I can say is that it is something designed to go bang," he said.

That is gloriously clever. Nice, nice work.

Posted by: Mike 2010-09-22 19:37

#2 Such sabotage is an interesting engineering thought problem. Likely the idea would be to exceed tolerances in enclosed systems that could not be repaired without a complete rebuild of the plant.

Say pipes embedded in thick concrete. An essential part of the cooling system.

Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-09-22 18:32

#1 The Bushehr is not an important part of the Iran Nuclear weapon program.

It is however, a vital 'prestige project'. An Israeli shutdown of Bushehr would be a humiliation. Of course, given the many archaic elements of the Bushehr design (part of the construction dates to the early 70s, parts are German, parts French, parts Russian), shutting it might actually prevent a deadly accident.

Posted by: lord garth 2010-09-22 17:11

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