Stuxnet Worm a U.S. Cyber-Attack on Iran Nukes?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20017507-501465.html

September 24, 2010 6:41 AM

Stuxnet Worm a U.S. Cyber-Attack on Iran Nukes?

Posted by Tucker Reals

 

A top expert in protecting industry and infrastructure from cyber-attacks has told the Financial Times that a computer worm which surfaced more than a year ago may well have been a deliberate attempt by the U.S. government to destroy Iran's primary nuclear facility.

 

The Stuxnet worm has been researched for months, but its design is so complex that security experts are still unable to say definitively who or what it was created to attack.

 

The worm exploits gaps in Windows operating systems (which Microsoft has since patched) to attack very specific Siemens software used to operate industrial machinery, reports the FT.

 

Ralph Langner, an expert in protecting industrial systems, told a closed conference in Maryland this week that the worm may be aimed, not just at the Siemens software, but specifically at a "controversial nuclear facility in Iran," according to the newspaper.

The report did not specify which of Iran's nuclear plants Langner suspected was under attack, but the reference to a controversy makes it likely the facility at Natanz -- where Iran conducts most of its uranium enrichment despite global demands to halt the activity -- is in question.

Computer security company Symantec tells the FT that Iran has been subjected to far more infections by Stuxnet than any other country. There was no indication as to where, specifically, those infections were cropping up.

Another unusual characteristic of the Stuxnet worm, according to the experts who spoke to the FT, is that it is the first virus apparently designed to cause physical harm to systems outside a computer or computing network.

"While cyber-attacks on computer networks have slowed or stopped communication in countries such as Estonia and Georgia, Stuxnet is the first aimed at physical destruction and it heralds a new era in cyberwar," says the article, which appears on the FT's front page Friday.

Siemens, which has supplied a great deal of both hardware and software to Iran for its nuclear energy program, told the FT it had provided clients with a fix for the Stuxnet worm.

It was unclear from the article whether experts believe the virus still represents a threat to Iran's nuclear program, or industrial facilities using the Siemens software elsewhere in the world.

The FT says the complexity of the virus has led experts to believe a "highly organized team" is behind Stuxnet -- most likely a government.

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Pacific agriculture and forestry leaders encouraged to embrace 'e-agriculture'

Thursday 23^rd  September 2010, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji Islands

Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) were encouraged to embrace information and communications technology (ICT) and 'e-agriculture' in delivering products and services to stakeholders involved in the sector during the 4^th HOAFS meeting in Nadi, Fiji Islands recently.

 

E-agriculture is the use of ICT to deliver services to the stakeholders of the agriculture sector. It is one of the key initiatives of the Framework for Action on ICT for Development in the Pacific (FAIDP), together with e-government, e-health and e-education.

 

Some of the FAIDP priorities were relevant to the agriculture and forestry sector, including: access to ICT in rural areas and remote islands, websites, telecentres/community learning centres, financial inclusion (e.g. transfer of funds via mobile phones), and linkages to the energy sector.

 

Anju Mangal of the Secretariat of Pacific Community (SPC) Land Resources Division (LRD) said that communication tools for sharing and disseminating relevant information to farmers and LRD stakeholders are imperative for the development of agriculture and forestry.  

 

'Some possible options include having websites/online content management systems and social networking and media tools such as blogs and wikis with up to date, relevant information to assist LRD stakeholders.

 

'In addition, having access to the Internet provides LRD stakeholders with relevant agricultural information and facilitates better market access.

 

'Financial inclusion would also help revitalise rural development, as under such a programme farmers can receive payments via mobile phones,' Ms Mangal said.

 

'SPC approaches focused on the use of ICT and collaborative approaches to implement activities focussing on good practices and success stories and on the different policies that have an impact on agriculture/forestry activities,' she said.

 

Mr Siaosi Sovaleni of SPC added that having power in rural areas is essential for ICT development.

 

FAIDP was formulated in response to a call from Pacific leaders at the 40^th Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns (August 2009) for the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy (PPDS) to be reviewed and updated.

 

This direction reaffirmed the continuing importance of ICT as a tool for development in the region and further supports the Wellington Declaration, in which ICT ministers declared, 'We recognize that information and communication technologies (ICTs), while not an end in themselves, have a key role as a basis for economic development, while also promoting and enhancing social cohesion, cultural enrichment and environmental conservation'.

 

'The framework uses a new regional approach to developing and improving information and communication technology (ICT) services to support development and governance and improve the livelihoods of communities in the Pacific region', added Mr Sovaleni.

 

The Pacific region faces challenges such as the 'tyranny of distance', poor infrastructure, lack of capacity, and diseconomies of scale. The use of mobile phones and community learning centres can help improve the dissemination of information to farmers. These tools can be used to disseminate agricultural information, advice and weather forecasts.

 

LRD, in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), is implementing the Market Information Systems (MIS) in Fiji Islands with the Ministry of Primary Industries to improve the provision of quality market information to stakeholders.The proposed MIS for Fiji Islands will be piloted in the Sigatoka Valley and will aim to provide weekly price and marketing information to subscribers via SMS text messages to their mobile phones. This service will then be rolled out to incorporate new areas as required.

 

The provision of market information aims to increase the efficiency of agricultural markets and help overcome issues of market failure based on asymmetric access to commodity price data. In its simplest form, the provision of spot prices aims to assist farmers in making better decisions on where to sell their produce and negotiate prices rather than simply accepting proposed prices.

 

In Tonga, LRD is currently supporting the establishment of an agricultural information call centre in Tonga whereby mobile phones will be used for information dissemination and sharing. It is also supporting publication of at least 90 extension leaflets on selected crops and livestock subjects in electronic format.

 

A helpdesk system will also be established within the Ministry of Agriculture in Tonga to ensure the ministry is more responsive to queries.

 

(For further information please contact Vinesh Prasad on telephone (679)3370733 or email LRD Help Desk on email lrdhelpdesk@spc.int.

Drop the Net prices

Mary Rauto
Friday, September 24, 2010
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=156630

IF Internet costs faced by consumers don't drop soon, the Commerce
Commission will step in to force a drop by regulating prices, its
chairman Dr Mahendra Reddy warned.

"We began regulating the bandwidth obtained from FINTEL since July 1,
2010, using a glide path approach," Dr Reddy said.

When that happened, he said, the expectation was that retail Iinternet
rates provided by Internet Service Providers would follow suit.

"Three months down the line, retail rates have reduced but not to our
expectations," Dr Reddy said.

"We are monitoring the market and if it fails to deliver to our
expectation, we will be compelled to intervene. If that's what the
industry wants, we will respond," he warned.

He added that following a study last year, the wholesale market of the
telecommunications sector was regulated.

But Dr Reddy said some operators had used the situation to keep
off-net voice rates high which created an impediment to other
operators penetrating the voice retail market.

"In November we intend to take some remedial action on this," he warned.

Islands swap broadband experience

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 13:25       
Participants from more than 15 Pacific islands attended a workshop held in Koror, Palau on wireless broadband.
The aim was to share information and exchange ideas on how to improve the service of wireless broadband and also ways to make it available to all people.
The workshop was opened by Palau Minister of National Communications Corporation Jackson R. Ngiraingas and also APT representative Stuart Davies

There were also representatives from JTEC in Japan, Telecom NZ, SES World Skies and academic staff from different organisations t

o give their views in how the Pacific can make wireless broadband more reliable , cheaper and accdessible.

The workshop was chaired by Stuart Davies of APT, and Mose Tulima Tuleki,from the Government of Samoa's Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.

There were very detailed presentations given by representatives from Tonga, APT, JTEC, PNC, Fiji, Telecom NZ, SES World Skies and also from the Office of the Regulator in Samoa, Unutoa A. Fonoti.

Mr. Tuleki said the success of many ICT projects in Samoa like OLPC(one Laptop per child), RICS(Rural Internet Connectivity in Samoa), Telecentres, E-Government Portal and many others was that the National ICT Committee is chaired by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.
The workshop ended with a summary and then closing remarks by  Mr. Ngiraingas and Mr Davies.   

Stephen David Hazelman

Communications minister calls for a regional approach to addressing ICT and Internet governance

2 September 2010

 

MEDIA RELEASE

 

Communications minister calls for a regional approach to addressing ICT and Internet governance

 

According to the Fiji Islands Minister for Communications, Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) should adopt a regional approach to addressing Internet governance and information and communications technology (ICT) issues affecting the region.

 

In his keynote address at the opening of the Internet Governance and ICT Policy workshop in Suva, the Honourable Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that from a regulatory and economic perspective, it was logical that PICTs work together.

 

'Some of us need to carry the baton for some of the others. For example in Fiji we have recently developed some laws pertaining to cyber crimes. We're quite happy to share them with other Pacific Island countries that do not have them,' said Sayed-Khaiyum.

 

The Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Economic Development Division, Captain John Hogan, told participants that while ICT and the Internet were vital for development, there was also increasing potential for cyber threats.

 

'These are usually in the form of cyber security breaches, and other illegal interventions. For the Pacific, this is an important area to tackle, and PICTs are in the early stages of adopting such protection with help from international experts,' said Captain Hogan.

 

He added that in recognition of the importance of these issues, Pacific ICT officials at a recent meeting in Tonga gave their full support for a Regional Internet Governance Forum to be organised in the Pacific in 2011.

 

The current two-day workshop is a collaborative effort of SPC and DiploFoundation, an international non-governmental organisation.

 

'Diplo's mission is to assist the Pacific Island countries and territories to build institutional capacities in order to meaningfully participate in the global Internet governance debates and initiate the Pacific Internet Governance Forum,' said DiploFoundation Coordinator, Vladimir Radunovic.

 

Sixty participants from both the public and private sectors are attending the sessions.

 

For more information please contact Anju Mangal: anjum@spc.int or Siaosi Sovaleni: siaosis@spc.int.