Penetrating the Cloud of Computation ...

[BWoB]

... a little.

At Natanz, for almost 17 months, Stuxnet quietly worked its way into the system and targeted a specific component -- the frequency converters made by the German equipment manufacturer Siemens that regulated the speed of the spinning centrifuges used to create nuclear fuel. The worm then took control of the speed at which the centrifuges spun, making them turn so fast in a quick burst that they would be damaged but not destroyed. And at the same time, the worm masked that change in speed from being discovered at the centrifuges' control panel.

At Bushehr, meanwhile, a second secret set of codes, which Langner called “digital warheads,” targeted the Russian-built power plant's massive steam turbine.

Here's how it worked, according to experts who have examined the worm:

Pretty brilliant.

[ellens]

This information is interesting and it will be even more interesting to see how effective this cyberwarfare is in delaying the advance of Iran's nuclear program. I think the key here is not to think that cyberwarfare is the panacea that solves the problem of Iran's imperial ambitions. This reminds me of what people used to say about carpet bombing. It is a very useful and usually necessary aspect of fighting a large scale war with a determined enemy, but it never is enough to clinch military victory and then turn military victory into subsequent lasting victory. For that you need boots on the ground and local allies (or puppets) to take over a country and rebuild the ruling elite and structure of the country.

In other words, there is no substitute for combat troops and intelligence officials who enter the territory after the bombing wreaks its damage. In the case of Iran, cyberwarfare via Stuxnet, has clearly set back Iranian nuclear ambitions. For how long, we don't know. But if it has bought Israel and America even 2-3 years of time, that could be significant. During this period other attempts can be made to destabilize the Islamic regime and lead to their eventual overthrow.