Iran
Asks for EMERGENCY Security Council Meeting at UN - May Declare War
against USA
31
March, 2017
Iran
has asked the UN to call an emergency session. They ran the original
code for the Stuxnet computer virus code against the CIA "Marble"
code released by Wikileaks. They can now confirm (it has been
expected always but never verified) the attack was done by the US and
CIA under the Obama Administration.
This
was an attack on a NUCLEAR capability -- which is an act of war --
and also violates multiple UN and other treaties.
The
US should expect the UN to initiate major sanctions, or for Iran to
declare war.
This
will be announced this afternoon around 3:00 PM Eastern US time.
What
is "STUXNET?"
Stuxnet
is a malicious computer worm, first identified in 2010, that targets
industrial computer systems and was responsible for causing
substantial damage to Iran's nuclear program. The software was
designed to erase itself in 2012 thus limiting the scope of its
effects. The worm is believed by many experts to be a jointly built
American-Israeli cyberweapon, although no organization or state has
officially admitted responsibility. Anonymous American officials
speaking to The Washington Post claimed the worm was developed during
the Bush administration to sabotage Iran's nuclear program with what
would seem like a long series of unfortunate accidents.
Stuxnet
specifically targets programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which
allow the automation of electromechanical processes such as those
used to control machinery on factory assembly lines, amusement rides,
or centrifuges for separating nuclear material. Exploiting four
zero-day flaws, Stuxnet functions by targeting machines using the
Microsoft Windows operating system and networks, then seeking out
Siemens Step7 software.
Stuxnet
reportedly compromised Iranian PLCs, collecting information on
industrial systems and causing the fast-spinning centrifuges to tear
themselves apart. Stuxnet’s design and architecture are not
domain-specific and it could be tailored as a platform for attacking
modern supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and PLC
systems (e.g., in factory assembly lines or power plants), the
majority of which reside in Europe, Japan and the US. Stuxnet
reportedly ruined almost one fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges.
Stuxnet
has three modules: a worm that executes all routines related to the
main payload of the attack; a link file that automatically executes
the propagated copies of the worm; and a rootkit component
responsible for hiding all malicious files and processes, preventing
detection of the presence of Stuxnet.
Stuxnet
is typically introduced to the target environment via an infected USB
flash drive. The worm then propagates across the network, scanning
for Siemens Step7 software on computers controlling a PLC. In the
absence of either criterion, Stuxnet becomes dormant inside the
computer. If both the conditions are fulfilled, Stuxnet introduces
the infected rootkit onto the PLC and Step7 software, modifying the
codes and giving unexpected commands to the PLC while returning a
loop of normal operations system values feedback to the users.
In
2015, Kaspersky Labs' research findings on another highly
sophisticated espionage platform created by what they called the
Equation Group, noted that the group had used two of the same
zero-day attacks used by Stuxnet, before they were used in Stuxnet,
and their use in both programs was similar. The researchers reported
that "the similar type of usage of both exploits together in
different computer worms, at around the same time, indicates that the
Equation Group and the Stuxnet developers are either the same or
working closely together". Costin Raiu, the director of
Kaspersky Lab's global research and analysis team, believes that the
Equation Group cooperates with the Stuxnet and Flame groups only from
a position of clear superiority, giving them their "bread
crumbs".
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