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Iranian security experts believe they can protect their nuclear facilities against foreign cyber attack

Iranian officials believe that security experts tasked with preventing cyber attacks can protect their nuclear facilities.  

"Most enemy threats target nuclear energy sites as well as electronic trade and banking operations," said Gholam Reza Jalali, Iranian civil defense head, noted in an interview.  "Iranian experts possess adequate knowledge to confront cyber threats.  All nuclear facilities in the country are immune from cyber attacks."

In 2009, the Stuxnet worm temporarily derailed some Iranian nuclear centrifuges, hitting more than 30,000 Iranian IP addresses.  Stuxnet was designed so hijackers would be able to remotely control infected computers and collect information about nuclear facilities.  However, Iranian officials said the worm was unable to cause any significant damage, or compromise any classified information.  

Stuxnet apparently struck the Bushehr nuclear power plant first, though Iranian security officials were able to detect the cyber attack quickly.  It was likely reverse-engineered so it could be stopped, but future attacks could be built from Stuxnet.

Following the attack, Iran accused tech giant Siemens of aiding the U.S. and Israel, saying the company needed to be held accountable for its actions.  The company not surprisingly declined comment, and nothing has resulted from Iran's accusations.   

Jalali also noted that foreign-made viruses, such as Stars and Doku, were likely launched by the United States, Israel, and other western super powers.  

Both independent hackers and organized crime rings have launched cyber attacks on governments and corporations -- but the Iranian claims to be able to adequately counter cyber attacks seems foolhardy.  Despite Stuxnet, Stars, and Doku not successfully compromising Iran's networks, other more sophisticated attacks are sure to follow.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard now has a group of organized hackers they call upon to attack western targets.  The nation has had a cyber army for about three years, and wants to further modernize their attack methods.

Tensions between Iran and the rest of the world have reached a boiling point -- both on the Internet and in the real world -- as Israel blames Iran for several high-profile bombings in recent days.  

Sources: FARS News Agency, Times of India

Comments     Threshold


RE: Hey Iran...
By Chudilo on 2/15/2012 9:34:27 AM , Rating: 2
Hah. Exactly. That's an in-your-face challenge to all the hackers in the world... So far they've been dealing with the sponsored white-hat hackers. Wait 'till they see some REAL deal experts :)

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