http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/hackers-catch-virus-aimed-at-tehran-20110215-1av83.html
Hackers catch virus aimed at Tehran Josh Halliday February 16, 2011 LONDON: The ''hacktivist'' group Anonymous claims to have access to the sophisticated computer virus reportedly developed as a joint Israeli-US cyber attack against Iran's nuclear facilities. Anonymous says it has obtained details of the Stuxnet worm from the emails of HBGary, a US security company the hacker collective attacked this month. It is not yet clear whether Anonymous plans to deploy the computer virus, but last week the group signalled an intention to attack Iranian government websites in support of planned demonstrations in Tehran. Security experts said on Monday that although Anonymous has access to parts of Stuxnet, it does not control the crucial code enabling it to attack Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant - an attack Russia's ambassador to NATO said could potentially trigger a ''new Chernobyl''. Orla Cox, a security operations manager at Symantec, the cyber security firm that has been researching Stuxnet since its discovery, said it was ''very difficult to tell'' how dangerous Anonymous's copy of Stuxnet was. ''It would be possible [for Anonymous to use Stuxnet in an attack],'' Ms Cox said. ''But it would require a lot of work . even if you have got access to it you need to understand the target - that requires a lot of research.'' Iran admitted its nuclear program had been delayed by Stuxnet last year, with reports later claiming that the worm was a joint US-Israeli project intent on knocking Tehran's nuclear ambitions off course. Experts said last year that Stuxnet would have taken five to 10 people about six months to create. Computer viruses are largely uncharted territory for Anonymous, which has built its notoriety on crippling the websites of governments and multinational corporations. Late last month London's Metropolitan Police arrested and then released on bail five people, including three teenagers, it suspected of being involved in attacks in support of WikiLeaks. Snorre Fagerland, a senior threat researcher at the Norwegian internet security firm Norman, said it would be ''very difficult'' for Anonymous to use its version of Stuxnet in an attack. The hacker collective has obtained a ''decompiled'' version of the virus, rather than the critical source code that would enable an attack. The worm, reportedly tested at Israel's nuclear development centre at Dimona, worked by sending Iran's centrifuges spinning out of control, while making it appear that everything was working as normal. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
