The World’s First Cyber Weapon Attack on a Nuclear Plant | Cyberwar

Summary

The script delves into the discovery and implications of the Stuxnet virus, a sophisticated cyber weapon believed to be a joint operation by the US and Israel, aimed at sabotaging Iran's nuclear program. It explores the technical complexities of the virus, its impact on geopolitical tensions, and the broader consequences of cyber warfare on international relations and the global arms race in offensive cyber capabilities.

Takeaways

• ⚠️ The discovery of a secret facility in Iran reignited global fears of nuclear threats, with many nations determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
• 🖥️ A sophisticated computer virus, later identified as Stuxnet, was used to sabotage Iran's nuclear facility, marking the world's first known cyber weapon.
• 🧠 Stuxnet employed advanced capabilities to hide its presence and was far more complex than typical viruses, taking cybersecurity experts months to analyze.
• 🛠️ The virus exploited four zero-day vulnerabilities, a rare and highly valuable occurrence, allowing it to infiltrate the target systems undetected.
• 🔌 Stuxnet targeted industrial control systems, specifically those using Siemens' Step 7 software, to disrupt the operation of programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
• 🔍 The virus's design and deployment suggested it was a joint US-Israeli operation aimed at hindering Iran's nuclear program, although official confirmation is lacking.
• 💣 Stuxnet physically destroyed centrifuges at Iran's Natanz facility by manipulating their operation, causing significant damage to the nuclear program.
• 🔓 The virus bypassed the air-gapped security of the Natanz facility by being introduced through an infected USB stick, likely carried by an unwitting insider.
• 🌍 The discovery and publicization of Stuxnet inadvertently ended the covert operation, but it had already achieved its goal of delaying Iran's nuclear capabilities.
• 💥 The deployment of Stuxnet is viewed as the dawn of a new era in cyber warfare, spurring other nations to develop offensive cyber capabilities and marking the beginning of a cyber arms race.

Q & A

What fears were renewed by the secret facility in Iran?

The fears of a nuclear threat were renewed, as the world was concerned about the Iranian regime potentially gaining nuclear weapons.

What was unique about the computer virus that targeted the Iranian facility?

The computer virus, known as Stuxnet, was unique because it had never been seen before and had advanced capabilities to cover itself, making it a sophisticated and complex threat.

What is a 'zero-day' in the context of cybersecurity?

A 'zero-day' refers to a vulnerability or a security flaw in a computer system for which there is no fix available. It allows someone to execute code on a machine without the user's knowledge.

Why was the Stuxnet virus considered an act of war?

Stuxnet was considered an act of war because it was a covert operation that resulted in physical damage to Iran's nuclear facilities, without an official declaration of war.

What was the significance of the discovery of Natanz by the IAEA?

The discovery of Natanz was significant because Iran had not declared the facility, which was in violation of its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the facility's characteristics suggested it was intended for nuclear weapons production.

How did Stuxnet sabotage the centrifuges at the Natanz facility?

Stuxnet sabotaged the centrifuges by recording 30 days of normal operation and then manipulating the centrifuges to spin at abnormal speeds, causing them to shatter and destroy the facility.

How did Stuxnet manage to infect computers that were not connected to the internet?

Stuxnet infected the computers by 'jumping the air gap' through a USB stick that was placed into the computer by someone, likely an unwitting engineer.

What was the political impact of Stuxnet on Iran's nuclear program?

The political impact of Stuxnet included Iran admitting to a virus causing the shutdown of Natanz, and it potentially played a role in convincing Israel not to attack Iran, giving diplomacy a chance.

How did the discovery of Stuxnet influence the field of cybersecurity?

The discovery of Stuxnet highlighted the potential of cyber warfare and led to an arms race in cyberspace, with countries around the world racing to develop their own offensive cyber capabilities.

What was the 'Olympic Games' operation mentioned in the script?

The 'Olympic Games' was a covert operation, as revealed by the New York Times, in which the US, with help from Israel, created Stuxnet to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.

What are the broader implications of Stuxnet for the future of warfare?

The implications of Stuxnet for the future of warfare include the recognition of cyberspace as a digital battlefield, with the potential for cyber weapons to have devastating physical impacts, similar to traditional military weapons.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 The Emergence of Cyber Warfare: Stuxnet's Discovery

The first paragraph introduces the Stuxnet virus, a highly sophisticated cyber weapon that targeted a secret Iranian nuclear facility. It discusses the global concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions and the international response, including sanctions and threats of military action. The discovery of Stuxnet in 2010 is highlighted as a significant event in the realm of cyber warfare. The narrative mentions the complexity of the virus, its ability to self-cover, and the mystery surrounding its origin. The paragraph also emphasizes the shift in geopolitical dynamics due to cyber threats and the role of reporters in tracking these digital battles.

05:00

🛠️ Dissecting Stuxnet: Unraveling the Cyber Weapon

This paragraph delves into the technical analysis of the Stuxnet virus by security researchers at Symantec. It details the time-consuming process of understanding the virus's capabilities, which was far more complex than typical threats. The discovery of 'zero-day' vulnerabilities within Stuxnet is emphasized, highlighting the rarity and value of such security flaws. The narrative also touches on the virus's targeting of industrial control systems, specifically those using Siemens' Step 7 software, revealing a potential threat to critical infrastructure. The response from the international security community and the realization of Stuxnet's unprecedented nature in cyber attacks are also covered.

10:02

🌐 Stuxnet's Impact: Sabotaging Iran's Nuclear Program

The third paragraph discusses the impact of Stuxnet on Iran's nuclear program, particularly its effects on the Natanz facility. It describes the virus's operation, which involved recording normal operations to mask the sabotage, leading to significant damage to centrifuges. The paragraph also explores the mystery of how Stuxnet infiltrated a facility not connected to the internet, suggesting a USB stick as the vector. The political implications of the virus's discovery, including the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists and accusations against Israel and the US, are also covered. The narrative underscores the chilling effect of Stuxnet on the cybersecurity community and the potential for escalation in geopolitical conflicts.

15:02

🔍 Uncovering the Truth: The Attribution of Stuxnet

This paragraph focuses on the efforts to attribute the creation of Stuxnet. It includes insights from a former director of the Cyber branch of the Department of Homeland Security and a nuclear policy expert, who discuss the sophistication of the virus and its specific targeting of industrial control systems. The narrative also touches on the international response, including the New York Times report on the US's involvement in creating Stuxnet as part of 'Operation Olympic Games,' and the subsequent political fallout. The paragraph highlights the covert nature of cyber warfare and the difficulty in definitively attributing responsibility for such attacks.

20:02

🚀 Stuxnet's Legacy: A New Era in Cyber Arms Race

The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of Stuxnet, considering its role in triggering a new kind of arms race in cyberspace. It discusses the potential for other nations to develop similar capabilities and the challenges in defining and responding to cyber warfare. The narrative also considers the impact of Stuxnet on Iran's approach to cybersecurity, leading to the formalization of its Cyber Army. The paragraph concludes by acknowledging the transformative effect of Stuxnet on warfare, marking the beginning of a new chapter in digital conflict.

Keywords

💡Nuclear Threat

Nuclear threat refers to the danger posed by the potential use of nuclear weapons, which are capable of causing massive destruction. In the video, the concern is about Iran's alleged development of nuclear weapons, which could destabilize global security and lead to a nuclear arms race.

💡Cyber Weapon

A cyber weapon is a type of malicious software or code designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems. The video discusses 'Stuxnet,' the world's first known cyber weapon, which was used to sabotage Iran's nuclear program by attacking its industrial control systems.

💡Zero Day

A zero day is a vulnerability in software that is unknown to the software vendor, and thus, there is no patch available to fix it. The video mentions that 'Stuxnet' contained four zero-day exploits, which allowed it to infiltrate systems without detection and carry out its payload.

💡Scada

SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, which is a system used to control and monitor industrial processes. The script highlights that 'Stuxnet' had 'SCADA' strings, indicating it was targeting systems that control critical infrastructure such as power plants and factories.

💡PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)

A PLC is a digital computer used for operating an automated process by switching inputs to control machines. The video explains that 'Stuxnet' was designed to target PLCs, which are crucial for the operation of industrial systems, including those in Iran's nuclear facilities.

💡Air Gap

An air gap is a security measure that isolates a computer or network from other networks to prevent unauthorized access. The video discusses how 'Stuxnet' overcame the air gap by infecting a USB stick, which was then physically inserted into a computer within the target facility.

💡Olympic Games

Olympic Games was the code name for a covert operation involving the development of 'Stuxnet' by the United States and Israel. The video mentions this operation as an example of state-sponsored cyber warfare aimed at disrupting Iran's nuclear capabilities.

💡Centrifuges

Centrifuges are machines used in the enrichment of uranium, a critical step in the development of nuclear weapons. The script describes how 'Stuxnet' specifically targeted centrifuges in Iran's nuclear facilities, causing them to malfunction and thus disrupting the enrichment process.

💡International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The video references the IAEA's role in monitoring Iran's nuclear activities and the implications of the discovery of the Natanz facility.

💡Cyber Warfare

Cyber warfare involves the use of cyber attacks to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to another nation's critical infrastructure. The video posits that 'Stuxnet' marked the beginning of a new era in cyber warfare, with nations recognizing the potential of cyber weapons in conflicts.

💡Arms Race

An arms race is a competition between nations to develop and accumulate more and better weapons. The script suggests that the deployment of 'Stuxnet' triggered a new kind of arms race, with countries investing in offensive cyber capabilities to maintain strategic advantages.

Highlights

A secret facility in Iran raises fears of a nuclear threat, prompting global concern over the Iranian regime's potential to gain nuclear weapons.

A previously unseen computer virus with advanced capabilities is suspected to sabotage the Iranian facility, marking the world's first known cyber weapon.

The virus, Stuxnet, is revealed to be a complex piece of malware with the ability to cover its tracks, unlike anything seen before.

Stuxnet's discovery leads to the understanding that it was an act of war in the digital realm, without a formal declaration of war.

Hackers and nation-states are increasingly using cyber warfare to reshape geopolitical landscapes, with significant implications for national security.

In the early 2000s, the US feared Iran was secretly developing nuclear weapons, leading to UN sanctions and threats of war.

Stuxnet's appearance in June 2010 coincided with heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear program, particularly concerning the Natanz facility.

Security researchers at Symantec took months to analyze Stuxnet, uncovering its unprecedented complexity and sophistication.

Stuxnet exploited four zero-day vulnerabilities, a rare and valuable characteristic in malware, indicating a high level of sophistication.

The virus targeted industrial control systems, specifically programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which are critical for national infrastructure.

Homeland Security's analysis of Stuxnet confirmed its unique targeting of control systems, unlike typical malware.

Stuxnet's operation was simple yet deceptive; it recorded normal operation and then sabotaged the system while playing back the pre-recorded data.

The virus physically destroyed its targets, a first in cyber warfare, causing significant damage to Iran's nuclear facilities.

Despite the sophistication of Stuxnet, its discovery and analysis by security researchers inadvertently ended the covert operation.

The US and Israel's deployment of Stuxnet triggered a new arms race in cyber warfare, with nations racing to develop offensive cyber capabilities.

Stuxnet's impact on Iran's nuclear program was significant but temporary, possibly delaying it by 6 months to 2 years.

The political fallout from Stuxnet in Iran led to increased investment in cyber defense and offense, formalizing Iran's Cyber Army.

Stuxnet's discovery marked the dawn of a new chapter in warfare, with cyberspace becoming a new battlefield for nations.

Transcripts

a secret facility in Iran renews fears

of a nuclear threat the nations of the

world must not permit the Iranian regime

to gain nuclear weapons a computer virus

that has never been seen before this

isn't two kids in the basement in Kansas

throwing some code together the virus

sabotages that secret facility it used

very Advanced capabilities to cover

itself or obfuscate itself who built it

in why is a mystery this was an act of

War it was an act of War without there

being a war stuck is the world's first

known cyber

[Music]

weapon there are conflicts being waged

all around us ones we can't see hackers

are poised to dominate the 21st century

reshaping geopolitical

Landscapes sometimes on behalf of

terrorists but often for governments or

just because they think it's

right as a reporter I've been covering

National Security for vice and

increasingly my job is to track these

digital battles there's one computer

virus that really showed how far

everything had come in the early 2000s

the US began to fear that Iran it's

sworn enemy since 1979 was secretly

developing its own nuclear weapons the

UN responded with San s the US and

Israel threatened war and then a

mysterious computer virus dub stuck net

appeared in June

2010 we're head to sanch yes the same

company that's protecting your desktop

from malware to talk to an engineer and

expert who forensically took apart stuck

net and figured out that it wasn't just

some run-of-the-mill trojan

virus I got in touch with sanch security

researcher Eric Chen he did some of the

most in-depth analysis of the virus when

it first appeared the average threat

that we look at can take us 5 to 20

minutes to look at and we know exactly

what it does and stet took us months

more than three months to look at so it

just can give you a sense of how

difficult how large and how complicated

uh the threat was so why don't you tell

me how you discovered stuck net so

basically what happened was another

security company that was based in b Bru

uh found this binary and it had

something in it that was called a zero

day why don't you tell me what a zero

day is a zero day basically is when you

have what's called a vulnerability or

you have a hole sort of in your computer

a bug of some sort that allows someone

to execute code on your machine without

you knowing it your computer just has to

be on and maybe even connected to the

internet and that's it you don't have to

be logged in you don't have to be

browsing the web you don't have to

double click on any files and so that

means you have no way to protect

yourself what about it had you never

seen before an average threat doesn't

have any sort of exploit inside of it

this thing had four zero days inside of

it what sets a zero day apart is that

it's a security flaw that there's no fix

for Zer days are incredibly rare and for

that reason incredibly valuable what was

the specifics of it that set off an

alarm there's these skada strings inside

skada basically is technology that's

controlling uh robots and and automation

or power plants and and things like that

and we had never seen a threat that

mentioned anything to do with scada this

thing could actually be attacked some

sort of national critical infrastructure

this isn't like two kids in the basement

in Kansas throwing some code together

this thing had a full-on framework

clearly had quality assurance behind it

here we're talking about something that

is just orders of magnitude greater than

we've ever seen

before as their investigation deepened

Eric and his team realized stuck net was

designed to Target computers using

Seaman's proprietary software called

Step seven what first caught our eye

were all these strings like S7 and we

began to sort of Google those sorts of

strings we saw wicc and we saw step 7

and when we looked those up we

determined that this was actually

software that would control

plc's plcs are programmable logic

controllers computer systems used for

converting digital code into physical

commands that automate everything from

Factory Machinery to heating and cooling

systems Eric now found himself in

unknown territory so we reached out to

the International Security Community we

were sending out blogs

all throughout that summer telling

people if you're a PLC expert if you're

an expert in critical National

infrastructure contact us because we

didn't even know what a PLC was at that

time Eric and his team learned that plcs

are extremely vulnerable to cyber

attacks but he still didn't know which

machines were the targets this

sophisticated malware or malicious code

was detected on Industrial Control

Systems around the

world cyber security analysts were

puzzled at the same time Homeland

Security was also trying to understand

the virus Sean mcer was the director of

enck the Cyber branch of the Department

of Homeland Security when Stu net was

identified what did your team see when

they took it apart well the first thing

we saw was that it was very

sophisticated and its Communications

capability so if you think of stuck net

like a kinetic device like a a missile

you had um the delivery vehicle you know

that that which put the payload on

target if you will and then the payload

itself and they were very unique

characteristics to both um Stu Net's

ability to do digital reconnaissance

without control it was essentially a a

digital you know fire and forget type of

approach the fact that it used you know

four zero day

vulnerabilities to gain access to the

network is something that you had not

seen in code before uh someone willing

to risk that many zero days in order to

get an on place and then when we saw the

payload part which was actually

specifically targeting an industrial

control environment that's really for us

became a a very significant event

because Normal malware doesn't go after

control systems and this was

specifically focused on Control

Systems it was non-stop for weeks um

this was all we thought about all we

worked on and you can imagine it was a

really big shift from what we had done

before the average threat we would

finish in 5 to 20 minutes and here we

were sitting on the same threat day

after day hour after hour night after

night and you know we weren't getting

bored every single day every single week

we were discovering new little Clues new

little breadcrumbs that kept us going

and kept us digging and kept us looking

um until basically November when we

finally figured out that this thing was

indeed sabotage uh on the

towns in what was basically an accident

Eric and his team found themselves

embroiled in a real life International

Spy

Thriller complex militia code had been

written specifically to take out Iran's

nuclear facilities

while its authors remained in the

shadows in 2002 the world discovered

that aan had been building a secret

uranium enrichment facility near the

town of

nutans the stuck computer virus has a

direct link to this controversial plant

the fact that Iran never declared the

plant made it suspicious that was a

breach of Iran's obligations James Acton

knows nuclear policy inside out he also

keeps tabs in the work of the ie a or

the international atomic energy agency

the world's nuclear Watchdog can you

tell me what the climate was around the

discovery of nans you know Iran's a

member of the non-proliferation treaty

and one of the requirements of that is

that uh you're allowed to do pretty much

anything you like in the nuclear field

short of building a bomb but you have to

declare it uh and not declaring nuclear

facilities is a violation of your

agreement with the Ia it found

activities that look very much like what

you wanted do if you'd build a nuclear

weapon and why were they so interested

in in the N like why was it the straw

that broke the camels back nans was a

controversial plant because um you know

firstly any enrichment is inherently

sensitive it's inherently dual use you

can use it for fuel production or you

can use it for nuclear weapons

production the size of the plant was

suspicious the plant's actually too

small for a civilian plant uh military

plants don't need to be as large as

civilian plant so it was scaled as

though it was right for uh making uh

enriched uranium for weapons but wasn't

the right size for uh enriched uranium

for nuclear reactors the the discovery

of um um the Iranian program did cause a

lot of concern I mean there were a lot

of countries who would genuinely and are

genuinely very fearful that Iran would

get the bomb and fearful of the

consequences of it doing so Iran

aggressively pursues these weapons and

exports Terror States like these and

their terrorist allies

constitute an AIS of evil arming to

threaten the Peace of the world Iran

denied that nans was being used to

produce nuclear weapons still its

government bowed to pressure in 2003 and

temporarily suspended uranium enrichment

and processing activities at nans then

in 2005 newly elected president Mahmud

amadin Jad defiantly restarted the

program within months the facility at

nans was up and running and enriching

uranium all over again concerned the UN

osed sanctions by 2009 Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged

the us to stop Iran's nuclear

program the most urgent challenge facing

this body today is to prevents the

tyrants of Teran from acquiring nuclear

weapons Netanyahu was privately

considering air strikes on

nans it's during this high stakes

political standoff that stuck net is

detected in June 2010 in in fact stuck

net was found in countries around the

world but infection rates in Iran were

off the

charts and at the plant in N tons

centrifuges were breaking down at

unprecedented rates Stu Net's design is

complex but its operation is deceptively

simple like a security camera the virus

records 30 days of normal center fuge

operation while it hides in the system

then when stuent attacks the centrifuges

it plays back the pre-recorded data so

operators on the outside can't see the

infection raging within the

[Music]

centrifuges and those 30 days were not a

coincidence that's how long it takes

basically for a Cascade of centrifuges

they basically get fully loaded with

uranium gas so they wanted to basically

have their sabotage effects happen right

at the peak moment and caus the most

damage so the centrifuges in it hands

normally will spin at 1,000 Hertz and

what the threat did was spin up the

centrifuges to either 1400 Herz to be

really fast or slow them down to two

Herz to be really slow and what would

happen is when they spin up really

really fast centrifuge would basically

vibrate uncontrollably and just shatter

and you would have literally shards of

aluminum flying across the room maybe a

domino effect of centrifuges falling and

toppling on each other and uranium gas

leaking

everywhere eventually they would hit the

big red button to cause shutdown stet

was smart enough to also hijack that

that big red button went through a

computer as well and they hijacked that

code and basically would ignore it and

allow their payload to take effect once

it was inside it was Unstoppable they

were doomed yeah The Operators were

doomed the plant was

doomed stuck net was the first digital

weapon known to have physically

destroyed its

targets but the computer systems at nans

weren't connected to the internet so how

did stuck net get inside the

system by 2010 it became evident that

someone had decided that measures more

drastic than sanctions and less

spectacular than air strikes were needed

to slow down Iran's nuclear program

because out of nowhere a mysterious

superv virus named stuck net was

sabotaging an Irani nuclear facility but

the computers in the facility weren't

online so the question remained how the

virus got inside the

system I went to find darknet J an

operational security expert to

understand how stuck net could have

infected them so how did stuck net jump

the air gap and infect niton it jumped

the air gap by traveling on a USB stick

that was placed into the computer from

someone darket J replicated the USB

exploit to show me how stuck net

infected the computers and N tons all

right so what happens is you put in the

USB you open up the folder Windows looks

for an icon which is a malicious payload

that can write to system I have it

opening calculator so once the intended

target opens the folder with Stu net

inside of it what happens next

essentially you can have complete

control your computer meaning that can

write anything to the hard disk it can

grab credentials from the internet if

you put them in at the time uh it can

also propagate itself inside of your

local area network wow it's Keys of the

Kingdom that meant someone physically

walked stuck net into the Iranian

facility likely an unwitting engineer

with an infected

USB inside the virus wreaked havoc

Center fuses were destroyed and the

Iranians were clueless but then Eric

Chen and his team at sanch announced the

details of stuck net to the the world in

a blog

post then naton shut down most assumed

Iranian authorities finally understood

the mess they were in and we're trying

to clean it up after that two Ronan

nuclear scientists were targeted by

motorcycle riding assailants who slipped

a sticky bomb onto one of their cars one

was killed the other seriously injured

it appeared whoever was behind stuck net

went to plan B soon after the Iranian

president admitted a virus caused the

shutdown in

nans

he blamed Israel but couldn't back it up

with any hard evidence the assassination

sent a chill through the cyber security

community did it make you a little bit

nervous we would look in our River

mirrors all the time and you know I

would see a motorcycle and watch them

closely it definitely wasn't lost on us

that we were in the middle of some big

geopolitical Affair Iran openly accused

Israel in the US of being the

masterminds of stuck

net I want to talk to someone who was

trying to stop the crisis from

escalating

further beautiful

day Jamal Abdi is a foreign policy

analyst for the national Iranian

American Council and has advised

Congressional members on relations with

Iran people like myself who were trying

to broker a diplomatic solution trying

to figure out an off-ramp from these

escalatory moves I really thought this

is a extremely bad term what was the

reception of stuck net in Iran how did

people feel about it I I I think the

Iranians very credibly belied that

Israel was behind this and then there

was also just the fact that there were

all these other sabotage efforts that

they believed Israel was connected to

Israel was in many regards the driving

force against Iran's nuclear program and

then you have a Hardline government like

Amad that's essentially inflaming the

issue it was how do we slow that down as

much as possible because we know we

can't stop

it but it wasn't until 2 years later

that the New York Times published an

explosive story revealing the US was

behind stuck net unnamed officials told

the paper the US created the virus with

help from Israel it was part of a covert

operation dubbed Olympic Games the

allegation set off a political Firestorm

so Federal probe was launched to

investigate the leak but in 2015 the

investigation was put on ice over us

fears of what might come out in court

for me it always comes down to the leak

investigation you don't launch a leak

investig for a covert operation you

didn't do Kim zeter has been covering

the stuck net story for Wired since the

virus was first discovered the United

States like they did stuck net I don't

think that there's a question that the

US is behind it I mean it's not even

something that I think that we you know

have to sort of debate Stu net was a

Precision weapon so it would never

destroy anything except what matched a

very specific configuration and you can

see lawyers uh fingerprints are all over

Stu net I think that's the first time

I've heard someone say that lawyers

fingerprints were all over stet you can

see

that as they were designing this the

lawyers would have had very tight uh

restrictions uh for controlling this

they would have told the developers this

can only affect the systems that are

targeted you have to write this in such

a way it likely blocks out two major

nation states that could have done it

China and Russia I'm not sure they would

have cared too much about the legal

implications exactly this was so this

was one of the reasons that uh people

were so certain it was the us all of the

available Clues suggested that stuck net

was a joint us Israeli operation but

government officials have gone to Great

length not to acknowledge it see the

evidence is lacking I I think that there

is no clear um complete evidence or uh

even complete indication that uh it was

one country or another to this day the

US government will not confirm or deny

its role in stuck

net stuck Net's Architects might want to

stay in the shadows but around the world

other governments took notice of the

Cyber weapon they'

Unleashed

when security researchers found stuck

Ned and publicized the discovery of the

destructive malware they inadvertently

brought a covert operation to a

premature

End by the time we discovered stet it's

believed that it already had delivered

its payload at least once so I'm sure

the attackers would prefer that it

wasn't uncovered um because maybe they

could have continued or or continued

further operations but it at least

accomplished its goal at least according

to the Ia documents that showed that uh

a few thousand centrifuges were were

destroyed destroyed um just before

2010 but what effect did it have on the

nuclear standoff between Iran Israel and

the West you know looking back on this

there's no question that it slowed down

the program was it a successful attack

in that sense it kind of partially

depends what you mean by success I think

Stu net probably played a role in

convincing Israel not to attack Iran and

giving diplomacy more of a

chance stuck net may have just slowed

down Iran's nuclear weapons program by 6

months to 2 years buying time for deploy

Acy but it didn't exactly stop Iran from

pursuing the bomb do you think it was

effective it was you know one step

forward two steps back it delayed Iran's

program certainly I think by several

months maybe a year but it also

politically it convinced Iran that they

were under siege it made an argument a

case for why Iran needed to have

capabilities to counter cyber warfare as

well as capabilities to defend the

country if Iran wants to develop nuclear

weapons they can nuclear weapons this is

not a technical decision it's a

political decision and stuck net was a

technical response that maybe on a

technical level slowed the program down

but on a political level actually helped

to accelerate the program so I think in

that regard if you're looking at

actually preventing Iran from developing

nuclear weapons or convincing them to

not go down that route stuck net was a

failure finally after years of crippling

un sanctions Iran agreed to limit their

nuclear program in

2015 exchange for partial lifting of

sanctions but by deploying stucks net

the US and Israel had triggered a

different kind of arms

race this was an active war and it was

an active War without without there

being a war if you drop a bomb on

someone they know that they've been

attacked right but in digital Warfare

you may never know that you're under

attack the US opened a door um that

everyone is going to walk through

now in Iran was stuck that scene as an

act war in Iran it was it was seen as an

act of war and there was sort of a

question that was opened up did the

United States just declare war on Iran

um it's such a gray area though so I

think that even now people are still

kind of trying to figure out whether

this constitutes war or not but

technically technically it was and I

think inside of Iran it was really

viewed that way and I think it really

opened a lot of eyes inside the

establishment of Iran that they needed

to get Savvy in this field to be able to

defend as well as attack and so you've

got the you know the formation the Cyber

Army inside of Iran that was initially

really much really aimed at activists

inside the country but then after suet

it became even more formalized all kinds

of money was poured into it because this

was now not just an internal threat but

an external threat it spurred Iran to be

more offensive it spurred everyone to be

more offensive that's the thing it's not

Iran there are there are other people to

be worried about than Iran all of that

together has created this arms race of

other countries would you agree that it

was the dawn of a new chapter in cyber

warfare the expected response is that a

lot of other countries now are

establishing offensive cyber operations

they don't want to be left

behind stuck net had launched the race

to militarize

cyberspace and the more the world is

connected the more targets there are for

attack countries around the world are

racing to design new malware for the

next generation of

warfare do you think it's going to

become another tool in the toolbox of

War absolutely stuck net to me was the

Trinity moment and by that I mean the

first Trinity explosion you know

demonstration of a of a nuclear

detonation in New Mexico we demonstrated

a capability that uh you could have

devastating physical impacts by cyber

means it was a bit like the bomb once

the secret was out people started

getting it for themselves we started

recognizing that there's no putting this

back you know the key was turned the lid

was opened and everything in Pandora's

Box was now out in the open and there

was no way to get it back in

stuck net was the world's first known

cyber weapon it set the stage for a new

kind of War one that will play out on a

digital

Battlefield