Slashdot Mirror


A Finnish-Chinese Connection For Stuxnet?

Lingenfelter writes "I recently wrote a white paper entitled 'Dragons, Tigers, Pearls, and Yellowcake' in which I proposed four alternative scenarios for the Stuxnet worm other than the commonly held assumption that it was Israel or the US targeting Iran's Bushehr or Natanz facilities."

8 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. My paper is coming by unity100 · · Score: 4, Funny

    In which, i will blame stuxnet worm on late Marilyn Monroe.

  2. Overthinking it by mike260 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Israel is (by far) the most nervous about Iran's nuclear program, and already had one pre-emptive attack on a nuclear plant under it's belt that (in their worldview) was a resounding success and is a point of national pride.
    So one of the drives targeted by stuxnet is manufactured in China...I hate to state the obvious, but what isn't?

  3. Chinas viewpoint on Iran and nukes by antifoidulus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    China is actually worrying about Irans nuclear ambitions but for different reasons than most of the west is. They arent worried too much about Iran attacking any of its interest but dont want to see US influence continue to grow in the region

    Its already well established(and the leaked cables support this) that many of the other countries in the area are quite wary of Iran and its ambitions, and a nuclear armed Iran would give the US and these countries a rationale for increasing US presence and influence in the region. China does not see this as being beneficial in the long run as it sees the US as its biggest, and really only, potential rival. Therefore they are against a nuclear armed Iran but on the other hand Iran is one of Chinas biggest oil suppliers and it really does not want to piss them off. So Chinas position is to try to prevent Iran from getting nukes while at the same time looking like the `good guy`. They often times abstain when it comes time to vote on Iranian sanctions in the security counsel. This essentially gives them an out, they can continue to see sanctions and pressure put on the Iranian nuke program without looking like a bad guy to Iran. They can always tell the Iranians that they were worried about vague and unspecified reprecussions if asked why they didnt vote no.

  4. It's about oil and coal by moxsam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Iran not only gets money but also Chinese coal in exchange for their crude oil that they sell to China. Now when Iran finishes their reactors, Iran needs less coal for making electric energy. But China will still need the oil. Thus they have to pay more for the oil. Even worse, the less coal Iran needs the less dependent they become on China, so they are more likely to sell thei oil to other countries.

    Sabotaging the nuclear plants of Iran is a cheap way to sustain the co-dependancy between Iran and China.

    1. Re:It's about oil and coal by tacktick · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Now that is a tempting hypothesis.
      But I'm going with Occam's razor on this one.

      Who has the most to lose should Iran get nukes? Israel. Who has the most interest in the region? Israel. Who has the cash and the tech know-how? Who has a close relationship with a more powerful country with a _big_ interest in stopping Iran? Israel

  5. Re:Rather basic question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    On the presumption that this is some electronic device with a user-modifiable firmware (how else would the worm be able to modify it?) - what would stop Iran from taking an unaffected piece, dumping the firmware, and re-uploading it?

    Do a clean reinstall of Windows, and you're set to go.

    Is there something I am missing?

    Here's what you're missing:

    We originally only had two basic kinds of memory chips, RAM which is volatile, and ROM which was non-volatile. Then someone came up with a new chip that could be 'flashed', that is you could change the data values once but then it became completely non-volitile and was no longer updatable (WORM- Write Once Read Many).
    These were the first flashable chips, and had a finite amount of space to use for updates since once you wrote new data, it was there for good.
    Well we have largely moved away from WORM technology on most consumer devices, since it's a lot better to have a chip which is largely non-volitie but can still be updated so you don't run out of space or risk totally ruining the chip.

    But a lot of high-dollar embedded devices still use WORM chips. Why? Because devices like the ones in question are not only expensive in terms of the raw hardware, but also cost a fortune in license fees for the software which runs them. And the last thing they want is for someone to purchase the equipment from someone else (used or stolen, for example) and run their own software on it- the company makes nothing. So they use chips which are based on WORM technology, which means that a malicious (or bugged) update could easily prevent any further updates (upgrades or downgrades, it's all updates)... which would require replacing the chip. And in most cases, it would be an entire board not just a single chip.

    So that's basically a headache for any legit operation which has a support contract with the manufacturer (which they WILL have, always), they ship it back and the maker ships a new one. Or maybe just sends a tech to the site with a spare. Which is all fine and dandy when you're not a country under international embargo, and has multiple powerful nations working to prevent you from getting these machines in the first place. But when you are a 'rogue state' or whatever we're calling them today, getting a replacement chip with the proper software on it is probably even more difficult than just getting an entirely new unit on the black market.

  6. Re:If Lingenfelter is right by tacktick · · Score: 4, Informative

    Seriously?
    If it was an escaped Chinese military virus wouldn't it have been alot more deadly?

    Also, it was traced to a pig farm in Mexico.

    Now please coat your tin foil suit with tungsten carbide.You're gonna need it.

  7. Re:+1 for hilarious by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just pictured Glenn Beck proudly and slowly walking onto the set of his show in an elaborate tungsten-carbide-tinfoil suit, complete with a samurai-style helmet and a US flag strapped to his back.

    "Today friends, I am immune to the electromagnetic radiation of the liberal media, and the silent-but-deadly kinetic impact of their hybrid cars. I can think freely and walk the streets without fear. Bring it on, Obama, if that IS your real name"

    XD

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel