K
Keiji Maeda
Guest
Iran 'Arrests Nuclear Cyberspace Spies'
1:50pm Saturday October 02, 2010
Katie Cassidy
Iranian reports claim several "nuclear spies" have been arrested, amid speculation a powerful computer virus has infected one of the country's main power plants.
The Busheher nuclear power facility in southern Iran is operated by Russia
Last month the country denied its Busheher nuclear station, which opened in August after 35 years of building delays, has been badly affected by the the Stuxnet worm. The comments followed widespread suggestions the super virus had spread through Iran's computerised industrial equipment, with some 30,000 IP addresses already suffering.
Intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi has now been quoted as saying his department was fully aware of the activities of "enemies' spy services". He did not, however, reveal exactly how many people were arrested. Mr Moslehi said Iran had discovered the "destructive activities of the arrogance (of Western powers) in cyberspace, and different ways to confront them have been designed and implemented".
Because Stuxnet it is so sophisticated, cost so much to write and uses two stolen security certificates, experts believe only a national intelligence agency or a huge private company could have devised it.
<cite> Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall
</cite> "I assure all citizens that the intelligence apparatus currently has complete supervision on cyberspace and will not allow any leak or destruction of our country's nuclear activities," he added. Experts believe the Stuxnet worm is designed to destroy or sabotage factories, power plants, refineries or other industrial installations. The advanced nature of the virus has prompted suggestion it was almost certainly state-sponsored.
Iran's nuclear ambitions have been the source of much contention between Tehran and the West, which suspects the Islamic republic is seeking to develop atomic weapons under the guise of providing energy. It is an allegation consistently denied by Iran. However, the Busheher facility is operated by Russia and as a result, the US State Department has admitted it sees no proliferation risk from the plant.
