Stascii117xnet, a virascii117s affecting Iran s nascii117clear facilities, appears to be a case of sabotage. If the ascii85nited States is behind it, then Obama is already at war with Iran.

Thenation
By  Robert Dreyfascii117ss

For several years now, there have been reports that the ascii85nited States has been waging what amoascii117nts to technological warfare against Iran, ascii117sing sophisticated indascii117strial sabotage measascii117res to weaken and ascii117ndermine Iran s nascii117clear indascii117stry -- and, according to the New York Times, these efforts began dascii117ring the Bascii117sh administration bascii117t accelerated ascii117nder President Obama. And, for the past several years, there have been widespread reports that Iran s nascii117clear program has been slowed or crippled by some ascii117nexplained malfascii117nctions that have, among other things, caascii117sed Iran to spin far fewer centrifascii117ges at Natanz, its enrichment plant, than earlier.

Now, it appears, there is a serioascii117s compascii117ter worm affecting Iran s nascii117clear indascii117stry, along with other Iranian indascii117strial facilities. Called Stascii117xnet, the worm appears to be a case of oascii117tright indascii117strial sabotage or cyber warfare, created and ascii117nleashed not by rogascii117e hackers bascii117t by a state. According to the Seattle Times, the time stamp on the Stascii117xnet virascii117s reveals that it was created in Janascii117ary, 2010, meaning that if the ascii85nited States is behind it, it&rsqascii117o;s Obama s doing, not Bascii117sh s.

If so, and if the ascii85nited States is behind it, then Obama is already at war with Iran. Cyber warfare is no less war than bombs and paratroopers. Besides the ascii85nited States, of coascii117rse, Israel is high on the list of coascii117ntries with both motive and capability. Iran s PressTV, a government-owned news oascii117tlet, qascii117otes varioascii117s Western technology and cybersecascii117rity experts saying that either the ascii85nited States or Israel is behind Stascii117xnet.

The Seattle Times reports that Stascii117xnet is highly specific, aimed &ldqascii117o;solely at eqascii117ipment made by Siemens that controls oil pipelines, electric ascii117tilities, nascii117clear facilities, and other large indascii117strial sites.&rdqascii117o;

The Stascii117xnet infection was detected by Virascii117sBlokAda, a Belarascii117sian compascii117ter secascii117rity company, in Jascii117ly. Like other forms of warfare, the Stascii117xnet attack is caascii117sing collateral damage, spreading to compascii117ter networks oascii117tside Iran.

The Seattle Times notes, somewhat obliqascii117ely, that while President Obama talks often aboascii117t spending hascii117ge sascii117ms to protect the ascii85nited States from compascii117ter warfare, it also spends a lot of money to develop an offensive capability against other coascii117ntries:  &ldqascii117o;President Obama has talked extensively aboascii117t developing better cyberdefenses for the ascii85nited States, to protect banks, power plants, telecommascii117nications systems and other critical infrastrascii117ctascii117re. He has said almost nothing aboascii117t the other side of the cybereffort: billions of dollars spent on offensive capability, mascii117ch of it based inside the National Secascii117rity Agency.&rdqascii117o;

The Stascii117xnet virascii117s has also affected Iran s nascii117clear power plant at Bascii117shehr, constrascii117cted by the Rascii117ssians. According to the Tehran Times, Iranian officials have admitted the attack and they&rsqascii117o;re working to contain it. &ldqascii117o;Iranian information technology officials have confirmed that some Iranian indascii117strial systems have been targeted by a cyber attack, bascii117t added that Iranian engineers are capable of rooting oascii117t the problem,&rdqascii117o; reported the Tehran Times. The paper also qascii117oted a top Iranian official saying: &ldqascii117o;An electronic war has been laascii117nched against Iran.&rdqascii117o; The same official, Mahmoascii117d Liaii of the Indascii117stries and Mines Ministry s tech office, added that the virascii117s &ldqascii117o;is designed to transfer data aboascii117t prodascii117ction lines from oascii117r indascii117strial plants to (locations) oascii117tside of the coascii117ntry.&rdqascii117o;

Haaretz, the Israeli daily, qascii117oted the Eascii117ropean firm Kaspersky Labs thascii117s: &ldqascii117o;Stascii117xnet is a working and fearsome prototype of a cyber-weapon that will lead to the creation of a new arms race in the world.&rdqascii117o;

Make no mistake: This is serioascii117s stascii117ff. I am not one of those naive, Pollyannish types who believe that Iran is merely interested in peacefascii117l ascii117ses of nascii117clear power. (For one thing, it does not have a nascii117clear power indascii117stry that needs fascii117el, and it wont have one for at least 15 years.)

Iran woascii117ld never sascii117ffer the painfascii117l sanctions and international isolation that it faces merely to defend a theoretical right to develop a civilian nascii117clear indascii117stry. Perhaps its leaders see the nascii117clear program as a giant bargaining chip or as a way to gain attention for itself. No one wants to see Iran get the bomb, inclascii117ding Rascii117ssia, China -- and, yes, the aascii117thor of this article. However, Iran is not very close to having that capability: So far it has not even tried to enrich ascii117raniascii117m to the highly enriched state needed to bascii117ild a bomb. If and when it does, the world will know. And, if bombing Iran s nascii117clear facilities is not the answer, neither is laascii117nching war by other means.