Last year Iran was hit by one of the first ever ‘guided cyber missile’ which targeted their nuclear program, that Iran claims to be peaceful. The attack was a setback for Iran as it delayed start-up several times and the nuclear plant -- "Bushehr" -- which it was hit with the attack, still isn't operational.
Today Iran announced that they have been hit by yet another computer virus named ‘Stars’ which is currently under investigation.
Iran’s commander of civil defense, Gholamreza Jalali said “Fortunately, our young experts have been able to discover this virus and the Stars virus is now in the laboratory for more investigations. The particular characteristics of the Stars virus have been discovered.” said Jalali. "The virus is congruous and harmonious with the (computer) system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of government organizations." He later said that the intended impact and target for the virus hadn’t been specified.
Stuxnet, the worm which infected the computers at the nuclear plant last year was said to still be a potential risk, although Iran claimed it had neutralized the worm before it did any significant damage. The computers were infected -- although Iran claims the plant wasn’t harmed -- a claim which analysts speculate was false.
Speaking about Stuxnet, Jalali said “We should know that fighting the Stuxnet virus does not mean the threat has been completely tackled, because viruses have a certain life span and they might continue their activities in another way. Perhaps the Foreign Ministry had overlooked the options to legally pursue the case, and it seems our diplomatic apparatus should pay more attention to follow up the cyber wars staged against Iran."
Stuxnet was apparently aimed solely at the country’s uranium enrichment program, which was working on creating fuel for the power plant. Analysts worry because the plant also has the capability to create the matter for an atom bomb. The worm was said to be so advanced that it was likely a government effort to develop it, and Iran later blamed Israel and the US for the attacks.
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