Iran Targeted by “Massive Cyber Attack” Official Claims

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Iran Targeted by “Massive Cyber Attack” Official Claims

June 22nd, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Eddie | 21 June 2012 | BLOG, Home, News | Aleksandr Gostev, barack obama, Bluetooth wireless technology, Britain, Chief, chief security, cyberattack, Diplomatic Relations, domain name, domain name yahoo, Economy of IranEconomy of Iran, Foreign relations of IranForeign relations of Iran, Gholam Reza Jalali, heydar, Heydar Moslehi, hosting, intelligence minister, intelligence service, Iran – United States relationsIran – United States relations, Iran’s Natanz plant, IranIran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, kaspersky labs, mi6, military official, Moscow, natanz, necessary measures, new virus, nuclear facilities, nuclear program, Nuclear program of IranNuclear program of Iran, oil export facilities, Oil Ministry, oil sector, Politics, Politics of IranPolitics of Iran, president, Reuters, russian security, Science and technology in IranScience and technology in Iran, secure networks, security company, security expert, software, state tv, the New York Times, The Times, tv report, United Kingdom, United States, Vitaliy Kamluk, Washington Post, web site hosting, wireless technology, zionist regime | 0 Comments

Iran’s intelligence minister has accused the U.S., the U.K. and Israel of planning a “massive cyberattack” against his country after talks this week over Iran’s nuclear program failed to reach an agreement, Iranian state TV reported on Thursday June 21,2012.

Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities was planned after the talks in Moscow aimed at curtailing Iran’s nuclear program broke down.

He didn’t say how Iran had detected the attack or where the information came from, but he said the attack was planned by the U.S. and “the Zionist regime” as well as Britain’s MI6 intelligence service, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

“They still seek to carry out the plan, but we have taken necessary measures,” Moslehi said, according to the report.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that President Barack Obama had ordered attacks on the computers that run Iran’s nuclear facilities, accelerating a plan that began before he came to office. That led to the infamous Stuxnet virus that targeted Iran’s Natanz plant, according to the Times.

Press TV also cited a Washington Post report that said the U.S. and Israel had cooperated on a new virus, called Flame, to target Iran’s nuclear program.

Reuters, which was among the first to pick up the Press TV report, said it was unclear if Moslehi’s remarks had been referring to Flame or to a new attack.

Those who commissioned the malware Flame also created the deadly Stuxnet, say Kaspersky Labs, who have discovered an identical piece of code in both worms. What appeared to be two unrelated programs are probably part of the same cyberwar campaign.

“The new findings that reveal how the teams shared the source code of at least one module in the early stages of development prove that the groups co-operated at least once,” wrote Aleksandr Gostev, chief security expert for Russian security company Kaspersky Labs.

Flame, which was discovered only last month, despite operating for several years, is a cyber-espionage program. After infiltrating computer systems through hundreds of possible vulnerabilities, it records all of the user’s information, from printed documents to voices recorded on the microphone.

In contrast, Stuxnet is a weapon. In 2010 it was used to damage uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran.

In fact, Iran was by far the most popular destination for both of the targeted worms, which experts deemed the most sophisticated ever discovered.

Kaspersky Labs believes the two worms were developed by independent groups controlled by the same party.

“We think that these teams are different, two different teams working with each other, helping each other at different stages,” said Vitaliy Kamluk, the company’s chief malware expert.

It is possible that the two programs were always intended to work together. The earlier Flame may have been used to spy on targets, and Stuxnet to decimate them.

Experts say Flame was designed to replicate even on highly secure networks. It allowed its creators to monitor the infected computer, activate microphones and cameras, take screenshots, log keyboard strokes, extract geolocational data from images and send and receive commands via Bluetooth wireless technology.

The virus came to light last month, when Iran detected cyber-attacks on its Oil Ministry and oil export facilities.

“The virus penetrated some fields — one of them was the oil sector,” Gholam Reza Jalali, an Iranian military official told the country’s state radio at that time. “Fortunately, we detected and controlled this single incident.”

The two countries both vehemently oppose Iran’s nuclear program, which they believe is aimed at eventually acquiring nuclear weapons.

Considering the lag of several years between their introduction and the discovery of the programs, analysts believe that even more advanced cyber weapons may currently be in operation.