Iran Arrests Alleged Spies Over Stuxnet Worm 261
kaptink writes "Reports surfacing from Iran claim 'nuclear spies' have been arrested over the infection at the Busheher nuclear station, which opened in August. According to Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, because Stuxnet is so sophisticated, cost so much to write and uses two stolen security certificates, he believes only a national intelligence agency or a huge private company could have devised it, calling them 'enemies' spy services."
Re:They cried wolf because ... (Score:3, Informative)
They arrested "The Usual Suspects".
Re:They don't say who they think it is (Score:5, Informative)
Admittedly I didn't know much about Stuxnet until after reading more about it and it seems to me just yet another windows virus that hasn't until now been discovered and mistakenly spread via contractors laptops. . . .
Seems to me that this worm wasn't designed for a specific target and is like any other virus..
From what I've read, it was specifically written to infect Siemens controllers, root them so it could change the control algorithms while displaying the proper algorithms when polled. The controllers are located at each piece of equipment, typically running independently, each with a minimal OS, if any. They are connected in a local network to allow communication and central monitoring and adjustment.. Stuxnet only used Windows vulnerabilities as a vector to get onto the front-end workstations in order to load into the controllers through the local network.
Re:Bah! (Score:4, Informative)
The tea party has never been a grass roots org. Launched by a stock exchange trader on CNBC throwing a fit, and funded by Dick Armey's Freedom Works; the tea party has always been the Republican Party.
Re:They don't say who they think it is (Score:3, Informative)
No, they didn't break the treaty. Iran is only required by the NPT to inform the IAEA 6 months before such a site goes operational. Iran insists that no nuclear enrichment had yet taken place at Qom. Despite being caught red-handed by the US for having the plant, once Iran publicly confirmed its existence they informed the IAEA that they would soon be enriching from there in the future. Like I said, they broke their word, not the treaty.
I wasn't going for moral relativism, I was faulting the people who keep spouting that "Iran is irrational" because of religion. It isn't, and there are other parties more apocalypticly-minded than Iran is.
Re:They don't say who they think it is (Score:1, Informative)
Iran did not build the nuclear facility "in secret". They announced the plant to build it weeks before they broke ground, in full compliance with the NPT.
Some two days after the announcement, the US and Israel reacted by hysterically announcing that they'd uncovered a secret plan of Iran to build the nuclear facility. The general idea is that if you proclaim something loud enough, everyone will believe it.
Re:Bullshit: what about Pakistan and Israel? (Score:3, Informative)
I can't remember the last time Israel threatened to vaporize everyone in the middle east, europe or the US and Canada. But Iran has
Bullshit. Where's your citation?
Pakistan has openly threatened to nuke India on several occasions
Pakistan is a US ally. Why are they trusted with nuclear weapons?
considering arab nations have launched 6-8 wars of extermination against it in the last 70 years.
1967 - Israel launches a surprise attack on Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. They take the Sinai, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
1967-70 - Egypt attacks Israeli positions in the Sinai.
1973 - Egypt and Syra launch a surprise attack on Israel in the Golan Heights and the Sinai.
1982 - Israel invades Lebanon in reprisal for an assassination attempt on Israel's ambassador to the UK
2006 - Israel invades Lebanon again in reprisal for the kidnap of Israeli soldiers.
Since Israel's inception in 1948, it has been using military force to conquer new territory and keep it under their control. Why they are surprised when states and displaced refugees want their land back is beyond me.
If Israel has the right to reconquer the entirety of Palestine after 1900 years of absence, then I suppose all Americans should be prepared to voluntarily give up their homes if China decides to fund Native American military forces to take back the United States. Both ethnic groups were nearly wiped out by genocide. Both have been historically persecuted. Somehow I think you'd be less enthusiastic about Chinese manufactured jets and tanks rolling across the country with Lakota and Cherokee pilots.
Re:The country that cried wolf (Score:3, Informative)
When I was in Iraq in the Army, there were several cars searched by my unit where the drivers were basically tourists from American and Canada. This was Ramadi in 2006, which blew our minds. It's like...um, you do know these people will kill you, right? Between the IEDs, insurgents, or accidentally driving too close too fast near US troops....fuck that. But there they were, and on their way they were sent.
Re:Bullshit: what about Pakistan and Israel? (Score:4, Informative)
Israel is noticeably, quite literally, greener than its neighbours.
That's why they deserve that land, they take better care of it.
Bullshit. Israel is destroying it - this "making the desert bloom" crap is destroying the water aquifers there which is one of reasons Israel is pulling so many provocative actions with Lebanon, they want an opportunity to seize access to the Litani river.
The Palestinians have literally spent centuries developing olive grove orchards which are very sustainable in desert climes. Then "settlers" bulldoze them down and plant Orange groves and other such water intensive plants such as Celery, exhausting the local aquifers, leaving just a fraction of water they've pissed in for the Palestinians.
Re:How come Iran can do it when others can't? (Score:5, Informative)
Allah is one weird entity. Apparently, under traditional Muslim belief, Allah is so other that one can never communicate with It directly. Errr...so how do they explain Muhammad? Dunno.
I'm not religious, but I'm a student of religion. According to legend, Muhammad was recited the passages of the Koran by the arch-angel Gabriel (acting as an intermediary of sorts I suppose). I don't believe Muhammad ever talked directly to god.
Anyhow, Muslims are fond of saying "if Allah wills it" to apply to any of their wishes. Okay, so..this Allah entity, he apparently willed Jews to create modern Israel? Or the Saudi royal family? Or forces making Muslims "victims" in the modern world? The schism between Sunnis and Shi'ites? What about the Alawis, Sufis, or any of the other innumerable Islamic sects?
The same B.S. so many other religious espouse... "God works in mysterious ways." It's childishly easy to come up with a reason for god letting these things happen. Persecution as a test of faith. Let an enemy rise to power so they have someone to conquer and become stronger. Etc. etc. Typically it's all "test of faith" as the usual reason.
If Allah is so just, how to explain the status of women in the Islamic world? What about the infidels? Islam is supposed to be a tolerant religion. Okay, where are the Christian churches in Saudi Arabia or the Jewish Temples? How come the Ba'hai are persecuted in Iran? What's with the Fatwas for killing whomever the Fatwa-er deems deserving of death? If Allah is It's cracked up to be, how come It cannot defend Its own turf and must rely on Muslims to do Its dirty work? And if It is so other, how can Muslims be relied on to interpret what It wants?
Women get the short end of the stick because, well, it's a power and control thing. Lots of religions had it (and still have it), although Islam is the only major religion that suppresses so many minority and women's rights so egregiously.
As for why Muslims have to do God's dirty work, well... the same reason that the Crusaders did god's work (in their view). If there is a god he's either unwilling or unable to influence the world on a large scale.
As for the inconsistencies in logic, well, that's Religion 101 for you. Logical fallacies left and right. Thankfully the majority of Muslims are moderates, otherwise we'd have car bombs and Jihadists everywhere. After all, you don't see evangelical Christians blowing up Planned Parenthoods and headshotting abortion doctors every day, do you?
Re:How come Iran can do it when others can't? (Score:5, Informative)
...otherwise we'd have car bombs and Jihadists everywhere. After all, you don't see evangelical Christians blowing up Planned Parenthoods and headshotting abortion doctors every day, do you?
Dunno. We're pushing nearly 18k terrorist attacks by muslims since 9/11, that's quite a few. And if you take a look in various parts of the APCR where it's supposed to be moderate, you sure do see a lot of jihadi's, public whipping, and 'ankle' laws.
And well, you don't. Mostly because mainstream christianty keeps evangelical's in check, they might spout the crazy but the rest don't let them go any further.
Re:Bullshit: what about Pakistan and Israel? (Score:1, Informative)
I'm not sure you know which "Palestinians" you talk about. Most of the immigration of Arabs to "Palestine" (once a region, never a country, mind you) was only in the beginning of the 20th century, after a few waves of Jewish settlers that opened up opportunities for jobs and commerce.
The name "Palestinians" has been attributed to Arabs only after the 6-day war in 1967.
What "provocative actions in Lebanon"? Monitoring Hezbollah's violations of the UN resolution that prevents it from operating in south Lebanon?
Israel handles its water problems by efficient irrigation and water desalination (which in both it is a world leader) much better than any country in the region, and willingly shares its knowledge and expertise. Trying to blame it for the world's problems is nothing new.
Re:Bah! (Score:3, Informative)