Report confirms, US, Israel behind Stuxnet cyberattack
The operation, begun under president George W. Bush and codenamed "Olympic Games," is the first known sustained US cyberattack ever launched on another country, and used malicious code developed with Israel, the Times said.
The Times said the article was based on 18 months of interviews with current and former US, European and Israeli officials, and was adapted from the book "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power," by David Sanger, set to be published next week.
The cyberattack, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and keeping Israel from launching a preventive military strike, sowed widespread confusion in Iran's Natanz nuclear plant, the Times said.
However, top administration officials considered suspending it after Stuxnet -- a complex virus developed jointly with Israel -- "escaped" the facility and began appearing in computer systems in several countries, the Times said.
However, Obama ordered the attacks to continue, and within a week of Stuxnet's escape a newer version of the bug temporarily brought down 1,000 of Iran's 5,000 nuclear centrifuges spinning at the time, the Times said.
Experts have long suspected that Stuxnet, which targeted computer control systems made by German industrial giant Siemens, was of US and Israeli origin, but neither country has admitted to having a hand in it.
A Pentagon spokesman, Captain John Kirby, declined to comment in detail on the article but said that Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have put a priority on the cyber realm.
"As we've said many times and the president and secretary made clear, cyber domain is a domain that we need to constantly evaluate and constantly assess and try to improve the range of capabilities that we have in cyberspace," Kirby told reporters.
The United States and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons in the guise of a civilian program, charges denied by Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
The Times article comes days after experts at Russia's Kaspersky Lab, a top anti-virus software firm, discovered "Flame," a sophisticated virus several times larger than Stuxnet that also seems to have been aimed at Iran.
COMMENTS (22)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1725443747-0/Untitled-design-(5)1725443747-0-165x106.webp "article")
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
"@Abid P Khan: No. All I meant to imply is that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at others."
You are too quick on the trigger. I would say your statement is a misleading one. The two chaps from Lahore, did not program a virus. They did not spread any virus. They did not attack Langley or any place else in the US. Please read about it somewhere.
@Abid P Khan: No. All I meant to imply is that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others.
Another virus gone rogue! These countries should understand that these very cyber virus will come to haunt them in time. And then they will blame China/Russia/ Timbectu/ The man travelling by bus...
@Yuri Kondratyuk: . ".... BTW, you should know that the first ever computer virus was created by a couple of Pakistanis."
How does this justify Obama ordering a virus attack on Iran?
Ditch windows for Linux, that is my technical take on Stuxnet or Flamer worms.
@American Muslim: By we, you mean Muslims or Americans? BTW, you should know that the first ever computer virus was created by a couple of Pakistanis.
Morally corrupted American.......i don't know....they are not shameful while giving advice to other countries on moral values
As we’ve said many times and the president and secretary made clear, cyber domain is a domain that we need to constantly evaluate and constantly assess and try to improve the range of capabilities that we have in cyberspace,” Kirby told reporters
Does other countries are allowed evaluate and assess cyber domain or cyberspace for themselves to improve range of their capabilities or it is also be monopoly of privileged group including undeclared strong allies India and Israel?
A Peshawary.
Only four countries had the technical know-how to develop the Flame virus: "Israel, the U.S., China and Russia." Since the virus was obviously intended for Iran, we can eliminate its friends China and Russia. This leaves only Israel and us. Having thoroughly demonized Iran, anything we do to it has become fair game. But there is nothing fair or right about taking another country's data. Certainly we would not want China or Russia taking our data and spreading it to 80 separate servers. As a leader of the world community aspiring for governance through universal fairness, we can no longer afford to follow the beaten path of expediency chosen by Israel. Doing so will not only deprive us of our moral authority, but will also squander our unique opportunity to fashion a more just and fair world.
Dear Cautious, The MI6 and CIA have been attacking Iran since the Killed Prime Minister Musodech of Iran in 1953. There have been sanctions on Iran by the USA and the west since 1979! Iran has never threatened to wipe Israel off the that is a lie perpetuated by the Zionists! Iran is fully in compliance with the Nuclear None Proliferation Treaty and has always been! You are a liar and a shill for the Zionist establishment, you diminish your intellect and credibility with every word you print in this publication!
@Cautious: Iran didn't threaten to wipe Israel off the map. That was a mistranslation that people like you continue to spread. Iran wanted regime change in Israel. Also Iran has not violated any treaty. They have the right to nuclear power under the NPT.
Year 2012, conspiracy theories coming true.
Iran Must not be allowed to continue their nuclear program. They would build the bomb and destroy the world, just like what we did in 1945
Well, it is just another example of the America Government breaking laws regardless of whether they are international or domestic laws. Thankfully, I don't think they killed anybody this time, but I am sure they are working on it. Whatever they are doing we can be sure that they are not making plans which are in the best interests of the world generally and the Muslim world in particular. Incidentally, is it my imagination that the Americans have toned things down, a little, in recent times. Maybe Pakistan's closure of the truck convoys did have some effect, be it ever so slight. Perhaps President Obama is waiting for his next set of instructions from a certain country.
@Ali tanoli
Yeah right -- it's all about picking on Muslims. Wouldn't have anything to do with Iran chanting "death to America' for the last 3 decades, threatening to wipe Israel off the map, or violating non proliferation treaty?
Now they've started cyber terrorism. I'm so shocked....not!
@Ali tanoli: You said you stay in US. So in case of war between US and a Muslim country like Iran/Pakistan/Saudi Arabia where will be your loyalty ? with America or with the Islamic nation? (It is already partial. war like situation)
It is going to be revealed soon that US Israel nexus is the main cause of all chaos in the world.
What will this be called terror or civilized terror??? no we cant say because victim is muslim.
Not hard to see which country is terrorising others here.
Cyber World War.
There we go again, can't keep out of other people's business.