Delirium
15th February 2011, 18:39
The ''hacktivist'' group Anonymous claims to have access to the sophisticated computer virus reportedly developed as a joint Israeli-US cyber attack against Iran's nuclear facilities. Anonymous says it has obtained details of the Stuxnet worm from the emails of HBGary, a US security company the hacker collective attacked this month.
It is not yet clear whether Anonymous plans to deploy the computer virus, but last week the group signalled an intention to attack Iranian government websites in support of planned demonstrations in Tehran.
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Security experts said on Monday that although Anonymous has access to parts of Stuxnet, it does not control the crucial code enabling it to attack Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant - an attack Russia's ambassador to NATO said could potentially trigger a ''new Chernobyl''.
Orla Cox, a security operations manager at Symantec, the cyber security firm that has been researching Stuxnet since its discovery, said it was ''very difficult to tell'' how dangerous Anonymous's copy of Stuxnet was.
''It would be possible [for Anonymous to use Stuxnet in an attack],'' Ms Cox said. ''But it would require a lot of work … even if you have got access to it you need to understand the target - that requires a lot of research.''
full (http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/hackers-catch-virus-aimed-at-tehran-20110215-1av83.html)
It is not yet clear whether Anonymous plans to deploy the computer virus, but last week the group signalled an intention to attack Iranian government websites in support of planned demonstrations in Tehran.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Security experts said on Monday that although Anonymous has access to parts of Stuxnet, it does not control the crucial code enabling it to attack Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant - an attack Russia's ambassador to NATO said could potentially trigger a ''new Chernobyl''.
Orla Cox, a security operations manager at Symantec, the cyber security firm that has been researching Stuxnet since its discovery, said it was ''very difficult to tell'' how dangerous Anonymous's copy of Stuxnet was.
''It would be possible [for Anonymous to use Stuxnet in an attack],'' Ms Cox said. ''But it would require a lot of work … even if you have got access to it you need to understand the target - that requires a lot of research.''
full (http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/hackers-catch-virus-aimed-at-tehran-20110215-1av83.html)