Malware can be a major pain for anyone with a computer or mobile device, as it can lead to security
risks like identity theft. But when a virus targets a nuclear facility,
the stakes are much much higher. According to a report on security site
F-Secure,
Iran's nuclear energy group — called the Atomic Energy Organization of
Iran, or AEOI for short — is reaching out for help to rid its system of a
malicious program that not only threatens the facility's daily
operations, but also plays a 90s rock anthem on the infected computers.
An email to F-Secure — allegedly
sent from an AEOI scientist — detailed the attack, noting that the
malware has shut down some of the facility's automated processes. The
rather vague wording of the email leaves a few unanswered questions as
to just what parts of the AEOI are in danger, but one piece of
information was very clear: The insidious software prompted several of
the group's computers to begin playing the song "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC in the middle of the night, and at full volume.
This isn't the first time Iran
has come under fire from cyber criminals, and it likely won't be the
last. But the attackers' decision to play classic rock songs on infected
computers is perhaps the most unorthodox way of alerting a nuclear
facility that it has fallen victim to hackers.
This article was written by Mike Wehner and originally appeared on Tecca