Slashdot Mirror


Iran Says It Has Detected Second Cyber Attack

fysdt writes "Iran has been targeted by a second computer virus in a 'cyber war' waged by its enemies, its commander of civil defense said on Monday. Gholamreza Jalali told the semi-official Mehr news agency that the new virus, called 'Stars,' was being investigated by experts."

16 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. makes sense by neo8750 · · Score: 2, Funny

    This makes sense that they would notice such a thing in iran around this time. If i did the math right it should be about 6 pm which is around the start of twilight/dusk meaning...STARS are just appearing in the sky and thus able to spotted during their attacks. I feel as the night presses on the attacks will only get stronger. We have two choices to fight back against these attacks. Either put up more streetlights and fight with light pollution or we can just hold our ground till sunrise which will cause this enemy to retreat in to the oblivion that is background light. Either way we must stand up and fight against these tiny attackers.

    1. Re:makes sense by Moryath · · Score: 2

      Didn't you know? Stars are the ancient enemy of Al-Ilah the Moon Deity, the forces of the Djinn, who fight against the Holy Angels and seek to corrupt humans.

    2. Re:makes sense by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      I hear you, the cyber attacks on Georgia and Estonia never happened....all a conspiracy by the CIA...they are behind everything...even the things of which they are in front.

      Of course - you only see the CIA agents you're supposed to see.

      On a more serious note - that's the fun thing about this environment (I suppose it applies to espionage in general - forest of mirrors and all that). There really ARE shenanigans going on. But the exact nature and motivations aren't always clear. And because of this ambiguity and past history, it becomes very easy to either see enemies in the shadows or claim that there are enemies as a cynical fiction intended to motivate others.

      I say this as someone who's spent over a decade doing exactly that; authoring horror scenarios to motivate others. Nothing drives home the need for good infosec practices, policies, and funding like a round of "spook the horses." My presentations outlined past attacks and vulnerabilities. They talked about mitigating possible future attacks via yet-unknown vectors. They were based on sound analysis of our environment and need to protect it. But in the most cynical reading - I was writing a fiction to induce action.

      Add in some less-than-sound analysis and political grand-standing and we have the new tool for propaganda.

  2. Doubtful by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ahmadinejad is just upset the Playstation Network is still down.

  3. Re:Call me a jerk, but... by LavouraArcaica · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Defending themselves from countries like USA is not a thing that 'affect them'? If nuclear weapons are so bad, why most rich countries have them in the first place? Come on, dictadorship is bad. But being invaded by another country is way worst.

  4. Re:Next worm: "Stripes" by katz · · Score: 2

    Israel and Iran got along fine until Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Nowadays Iran is the chief financier of Hezbollah and Hamas.

  5. Good. by Urkki · · Score: 2

    Good.

    I left it to the excerice for the reader to decide what is good:

    A. that at least some kind of war is being fought on Iran

    B. that it's viruses instead of bombs that are being delivered to Iran

    C. that Iran discovered the virus before it did damage

    D. that Iran is fighting it's own propaganda war by these false claims

    E. your own choice, explain below

  6. Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's rev by fnj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Shah, for all the domestic failings he may or may not have had, oversaw a prosperous, pluralistic nation which was a good international neighbor and not consumed by hatred for scapegoats. Iran did not participate in either the War of Israeli Independence, Sinai War, Six Day War, or the Yom Kippur War.

    The Ayatollah appealed to the basest instincts and transformed a nation with a rich history into a one dimensional den of hatred and troublemaking.

    Before and after, the majority were muslim, but the "after" brand is unrecognizable compared to the "before."

  7. Re:Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's by blind+biker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Shah, for all the domestic failings he may or may not have had, oversaw a prosperous, pluralistic nation

    It was also a very liberal nation - perhaps the most liberal nation in the Islamic world - where women did not have to wear anything on their heads and could be seen in miniskirts and high heels.

    Religious minorities such as Zoroastrians and Baha'i were'nt oppressed and Christians and Jews could marry who the fuck they wanted.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  8. Translation : Making Nuclear Weapons is hard. by Shivetya · · Score: 2

    As in, to keep from having to explain his holiness why they are having such a hard time with peaceful nuclear work it is useful to have a bogeyman. An Israeli / American bogeyman.

    Figure if they run out of viruses then they can start on physical sabotage.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  9. Re:Next worm: "Stripes" by katz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Israel ain't the one threatening to destroy Iran, though. Come down from your fifty-thousand-foot view some time and examine the issue critically.

  10. Re:Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's by kilfarsnar · · Score: 3, Informative

    They also had a secret police that brutally repressed any dissent. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAVAK. The Shah came to power when the CIA overthrew the democratically elected President Mossadegh. So there's that too.

    --
    "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  11. Before and after pictures: Cairo University by HockeyPuck · · Score: 4, Informative

    My mother who grew up in Tehran went to school, drove a Benz and who's mother ran the grocery store that my parents owned. Then the Shah was overthrown and my entire family (aunts/uncles/cousins etc) left for the US. The Ayatolla regressed 100 years of progress.

    An interesting pictorial:
    Photographs of students at Cairo University. Pay special attention to the hairstyles/headdress that the women in the pictures have. In the first pictures, you could mistake this photo for any university in the mid 50s. While in 2004, you'd never confuse this for some university in the middle of Oklahoma.

    These photos represent the gradual but steady Islamic radicalization invading the Middle East and the rest of the world in the last three decades. I lived in Egypt until the year 1978 and have never wore a head cover, neither did my mother or grandmother. And this is thanks to a feminist movement that started in Cairo in 1919 under the leadership of the famous Egyptian feminist Hoda Shaarawi.

  12. Re:Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's by cavreader · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yeah mainly suppressing the radical fucks causing all the problems in the middle east today. Now look at the results. And the CIA had a lot of help in getting the Shah into power starting with the British who were the ones getting screwed by the nationalization of their oil assets and the substantial amount of IRANIAN politicians themselves who wanted a new government. The CIA did not over throw anybody, at most they spread a little money around and promised future help to those IRANIAN's who wanted control of their government. In 1953 the US and CIA was not the global powerhouse super spies and troublemakers of today. The US was focused on the little problem in Korea at the time and the entire middle east had been British territory who were in the midst of losing their influence after WW2 and did not like having their assets nationalized. They even blockaded the Iranian ports in an effort to weaken the government the CIA supposedly overthrew all by themselves.

  13. Re:Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's by tripleevenfall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It makes you think about how much of the unrest in the world today can be traced back to Jimmy Carter's horrid leadership during that crisis. If he had backed the Shah, how would the mideast be different today? Perhaps no Mujahideen , no al queda, no taliban...

  14. Re:Iran's history only trashed by the Ayatollah's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Before Carter, believe it or not, the US had military posts in Iran.

    Carter was well meaning, but he should have kept the Shah propped up, and not pulled the US out of Iran (they were in Iran at behest of the Iranian government, not because they were occupying the country in any way.) Of course, the Revolutionaries won two decisive victories when Carter let the Shah fell. They betrayed Carter, and were able to keep their power by the anti-Shah propaganda. No, the Shah was not perfect; he was a dictator, but comparing the lesser of the two evils, at least he wanted a secular, modern country that could compete economically in the world arena.

    Even worse? The revolutionaries executed all the Iranian generals. Guess what happens next? Saddam from next door decides that due to that fact, he is going to take a chunk of Iran. Big mistake. Even with Iran sans any generals of experience, the Iranian people were the ones that kept the invaders out by sheer will and sacrificing their children.

    It is sad though. I can picture an Iran with the Shah in power. The Middle East likely would be a lot better off.

    Carter probably was the second worst president in recent memory of the US. He put a (pretty much) permanent moratorium on new nuclear reactors, and nixed breeder reactors. From his actions, he pretty much ensured Big Oil and Big Coal would forever be the energy kings of the US with everyone else as squashable bit players.