How Did the Stuxnet Virus Enter the Natanz Nuclear Facility?

The Natanz nuclear facility had high security and was not connected to the Internet. The “Stuxnet” virus was transferred to the software system of the Natanz atomic facility through a USB flash drive. The question is: how was such a thing possible.

How did the Mossad and CIA manage to install the “Stuxnet” virus in the software system of the Natanz nuclear facility? This question has occupied the minds of experts for years. The “Yahoo News” website on September 11 (September 2) published a detailed report pointing to new details about how the Natanz atomic facility’s system was infected with the aforementioned virus.

This comprehensive report is the product of collaboration between two journalists and experts. Kim Zetter is a journalist and author of the book “Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon.”

The second author of this report is named Huib Modderkolk, who works for the Dutch newspaper “Volkskrant” and has published several articles about the Dutch intelligence organization.

Installation of a Dangerous Virus

The authors of this article on Stuxnet wrote that this virus was the first virus designed and produced in the field of espionage and sabotage in atomic facilities. This virus first entered the software system of the Natanz nuclear facility in 2007. Iran had begun installing centrifuges at Natanz shortly before that.

The authors in this report referred to the role of the Dutch intelligence organization AIVD. According to this report, agents of the Dutch intelligence organization began their work with the CIA and Mossad in 2004. It is reported that meetings were held between intelligence officials of these three countries in The Hague.

Moreover, it is said that Germany, France, and Britain also cooperated in providing the necessary information to the CIA and Mossad for the production of this virus. Including Siemens, the company provided technical information about this centrifuge to these organizations.

This is while none of the aforementioned countries have so far denied the news related to participation in the production and installation of this virus or remained silent about such reports.

It is said that the Dutch intelligence organization managed to contact an Iranian engineer. This person collaborated in two phases in the production and installation of this virus with the Dutch intelligence organization and through it with Mossad and the CIA.

This Iranian engineer was responsible for gathering and obtaining the necessary information for Mossad and the CIA until 2007, and after that, he took on the task of transferring this virus through a USB flash drive.

Iranian Agent of the Dutch Intelligence Organization

The authors of the mentioned report consider the role of this Iranian engineer as decisive in gathering information and then in the transfer and installation of the virus.

The Natanz atomic facility was under very high security control and supervision. Because this system was not connected to the global Internet network, there was no possibility of external infiltration into its software. For this reason, the only possible way was direct access to the devices of this facility.

The operation of gathering and installing the Stuxnet virus was carried out under the name “Olympic Games.” The goal of this operation in the first phase was sabotage in the system of this atomic facility. The CIA and Mossad intended to delay the installation of centrifuges by sabotaging this facility and prepare the ground for reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran.

The sabotage took place in two phases. In the first phase, through the operation of Stuxnet, the activity of gas transfer tubes to the centrifuges was disrupted, and in the second phase, the speed of rotation of the centrifuges was reduced and through this the system was damaged.

Organizations Participating in the “Olympic Games” Operation

Based on information published in this report, the “Olympic Games” operation was a joint operation by the intelligence organizations of America and Israel.

In this operation, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Israeli intelligence organization (Mossad), the Ministry of Defense of Israel, and the Israeli National Security Organization SIGINT (an organization similar to the National Security Agency) participated and cooperated.

However, what has received less attention so far has been the role of the Dutch intelligence organization. The Dutch intelligence organization AIVD along with the British intelligence organization provided information about the main companies active in the development of nuclear programs in Iran and Libya to Western intelligence organizations. The matter goes back to information that was made available to Iran and Libya through Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear physicist.

In the article published on “Yahoo News,” reference was also made to the cyber capabilities of the Dutch intelligence organization.

How the “Olympic Games” Operation Was Formed

The matter dates back to the last days of 2004. At that time, one agent of Mossad and one agent of the CIA contacted a representative of the Dutch intelligence organization in The Hague and asked this country for help. At that time, there was no talk of producing a digital weapon, and the aim of this cooperation was stated to be gathering information about Iran’s nuclear activities.

The Dutch intelligence organization informed the CIA and Mossad agents that they had managed to establish contact with a person in Iran. Iran began uranium enrichment in February 2006. However, uranium enrichment at the Natanz facility officially began in February 2007.

Iran started uranium enrichment and the installation and use of centrifuges at the time when the grounds for espionage and sabotage in the Natanz facility system had long been started.

A report of the first experimental sabotage in centrifuges in 2006 was presented to George Bush, the President of the United States. After seeing the success of this operation, he issued an order to execute and continue it.

In May 2007, Iran had installed 1,700 centrifuges in Natanz. It was planned that the number of centrifuges would double in the summer of that year. The entry of the Dutch intelligence organization’s agent into Natanz occurred before the summer of 2007.

The CIA and Mossad decided in 2009 and 2010 to make changes to the Stuxnet virus. These changes caused disruption in the rotation of the centrifuges and could damage this facility. The USB flash drive carrying this virus was transferred and reinstalled in the software system of this facility.

In this way, Mossad and the CIA, with the help of the Dutch intelligence organization’s connections, managed to infect the software system of the Natanz nuclear facility through this Iranian engineer.

Source: DW