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Stuxnet 2? Iran Hints Nuclear Site Explosion Could Be A Cyberattack

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Iran is claiming a fire and possible explosion at its Natanz nuclear plant on July 2 could have been caused by a cyberattack, and is threatening retaliation in response.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has confirmed an incident had taken place at the nuclear site where in 2010, a highly-sophisticated nation state cyberattack was orchestrated by the U.S. and Israel, now known as Stuxnet.

MORE FROM FORBESIran Nuclear Facility Explosion: Accident, Sabotage, Or Cyber-Attack?

At first, the agency didn’t provide information about how the new incident had happened—or reveal how much damage was done underground where most assembly work on the nuclear centrifuges takes place—but it shared a picture of the burnt-out building. 

Now, Iran says it is aware of the cause of the incident but will not reveal this information due to “security considerations,” according to a Reuters report.  

But Iran’s civil defence chief Gholamreza Jalali told state TV yesterday (July 3) that “responding to cyber-attacks is part of the country’s defence might.”

“If it is proven that our country has been targeted by a cyberattack, we will respond,” he added. 

Reuters spoke to three unnamed Iranian officials, who said they believed the fire was caused by a cyberattack but did not provide evidence to prove this. Two of the officials said Israel could be behind the attack, but again they couldn’t prove this claim. 

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel is reporting the nuclear site fire was caused by an Israeli cyberattack, after a recent incident allegedly saw Iran hack Israel’s water infrastructure. This new report is again unconfirmed. 

Stuxnet 2?

The latest news and hints from Iran that the incident at the nuclear site could have been a cyberattack have of course led to comparisons to Stuxnet—the huge cyberattack widely thought to have been perpetrated by the U.S. and Israel in an attempt to derail Iran’s nuclear program. The attack was successful, destroying 1,000 centrifuges and setting back Iran’s nuclear program for years.

So is this new attack a possible “son of Stuxnet” or Stuxnet 2?

“We have extremely limited information so attribution right now is a tough call,” says Ian Thornton-Trump, CISO at Cyjax and former military intelligence operator. “My call is this is not Stuxnet 2. Iran's capabilities remain limited for a cyber response and they dare not do anything too audacious as they remain a non-peer adversary and would be crushed by a kinetic response to any significant cyber or physical aggression,” he adds.

Philip Ingram, MBE, a former colonel in British military intelligence agrees. “I still think on the balance of probabilities, it was a physical attack.”

Of course, in the world of hybrid warfare, nothing can be ruled out but until Iran “officially” claims this is a cyber-attack—and provides solid evidence to prove it—it would be safe to assume the incident was an accident or sabotage.

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