Iran 'attacked' by computer worm

Last week I posted a piece speculating that a computer worm/virus was being used to attack Iranian nuclear sites. This week Al-Jazeera offers confirmation.

Iran's nuclear agency is trying to combat a complex computer worm that has affected industrial sites throughout the country and is capable of taking over the control systems of power plants, Iranian media reports have said.

Experts from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran met this week to discuss how to remove the malicious computer code, or worm, the semi-official Isna news agency reported on Friday.

No damage or disruption of nuclear facilities has yet been reported, however.

The computer worm, dubbed Stuxnet, can take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants.

Experts in Germany discovered the worm in July, and it has since shown up in a number of attacks - primarily in Iran, Indonesia, India and the US.

'Disrupting Bushehr'

Isna said the malware had spread throughout Iran, but did not name specific sites affected.

Foreign media reports have speculated the worm was aimed at disrupting Iran's first nuclear power plant, which is to go online in October in the southern port city of Bushehr.