Russia Warns NATO Of Cyber Attack Danger

I wonder whether the creators of Stuxnet appreciated the potential for a regional disaster when the computer worm was used to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

A recent cyber attack on Iran's nuclear program could have triggered a disaster comparable to the one in Chernobyl 25 years ago, Russia's envoy to NATO said Wednesday.

Dmitry Rogozin urged NATO to join Moscow in investigating who created and unleashed the mysterious and destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet. The virus hit Iran's nuclear facilities last year, temporarily crippling its uranium enrichment program, which can make both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.

Iran is under four sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze the activity, which it says it needs to create fuel for a future nuclear power network.

Rogozin told journalists at NATO headquarters that the virus could have caused the control system of Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor to malfunction, leading to the release of poisonous radioactive dust into the atmosphere, as happened in Chernobyl.

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Rogozin, who attended the panel's meeting on Wednesday along with Russia's military chief, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said greater cooperation is needed between NATO and Russia in cyber defense. The former Cold War rivals already are cooperating closely in other fields such as missile defense, the war in Afghanistan, counter-narcotics, the battle against terrorism and maritime piracy.

By: Shelldrake