A bit more on Stuxnet

Some good thoughts on Iran's little computer problem from Caroline Glick:

The lessons of Stuxnet
There's a new cyber-weapon on the block. And it's a doozy. Stuxnet, a malicious software, or malware, program was apparently first discovered in June.

Although it has appeared in India, Pakistan and Indonesia, Iran's industrial complexes - including its nuclear installations - are its main victims.

The money quote:

The Iranian government has acknowledged a breach of the computer system at Bushehr. The plant was set to begin operating next month, but Iranian officials announced the opening would be pushed back several months due to the damage wrought by Stuxnet. On Monday, Channel 2 reported that Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility was also infected by Stuxnet.

On Tuesday, Alipour acknowledged that Stuxnet's discovery has not mitigated its destructive power.

As he put it, "We had anticipated that we could root out the virus within one to two months. But the virus is not stable and since we started the cleanup process, three new versions of it have been spreading."

And of course, this being Iran and a matter of national pride, etc... they managed to catch the guy. From Google/AFP:

Iran arrests Stuxnet 'spies' who hit atomic work
Iran's intelligence minister said on Saturday authorities had arrested several "nuclear spies" who were working to derail Tehran's nuclear programme through cyberspace.

Without saying how many people were arrested or when, Heydar Moslehi was quoted on state television's website as saying Iran had "prevented the enemies' destructive activity."

His remarks came against the backdrop of reports that the Stuxnet worm is mutating and wreaking havoc on computerised industrial equipment in Iran and had already infected 30,000 IP addresses.

But Moslehi said intelligence agents had discovered the "destructive activities of the arrogance (Western powers) in cyberspace, and different ways to confront them have been designed and implemented."

"I assure all citizens that the intelligence apparatus currently has complete supervision on cyberspace and will not allow any leak or destruction of our country's nuclear activities."

The website said Moslehi emphasised that his ministry was aware of the different activities of "enemies' spy services."

"We have always faced the destructive action of these (spy) services and a number of nuclear spies have been arrested," he said.

Mr. Moslehi certainly seems to be channeling his inner Bagdhad Bob Can't say I feel sorry for them and I was suspecting that the Stuxnet would be a shapeshifter. Excellent job of programming and it will be impossible to see where it actually came from. I do feel sorry for the poor schlubs that have been arrested -- they are just fall-guys to make Iran look good. Hope their families are quietly taken care of...