January 8, 2024 at 03:31PM
Dutch journalists from Volkskrant reported on the $1 billion cost to develop the Stuxnet virus, used against the Iranian nuclear program. They revealed that a Dutch spy facilitated the release of the virus, causing damage to nuclear centrifuges in Natanz and setting back the effort by several years. The engineer responsible died in a motorcycle accident.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes are:
– The Stuxnet virus was developed at a cost of $1 billion and was used to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program.
– A Dutch spy, Erik van Sabben, was involved in deploying the Stuxnet virus into the Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
– Van Sabben, posing as an Iranian engineer, accessed an underground nuclear facility in Natanz and installed the Stuxnet virus, causing damage to nuclear centrifuges and setting back the nuclear project by several years.
– The malware was likely hidden in a water pump that Van Sabben installed.
– Two weeks after deploying the virus, Van Sabben died in a motorcycle accident in Dubai. It is unclear whether he was aware of his role in deploying Stuxnet, and no foul play was suspected in his death.