The report states it is a preliminary analysis that reflects a "casual assessment" of the matter by Russian and Iranian technicians at the plant. The document was prepared by a nation keeping close tabs on Iranian atomic activities, AP reported.
The operating reactor would have the power of a "small nuclear bomb" if Stuxnet compromised its controls, the intelligence report states.
"The minimum possible damage would be a meltdown of the reactor," says the document. "However, external damage and massive environmental destruction could also occur ... similar to the Chernobyl disaster." The nuclear reactor explosion at the Chernobyl plant in the former Soviet Union forced the migration of hundreds of thousands of people and produced long-term health problems among survivors.
The worm can prompt the breakdown of uranium enrichment centrifuges and disrupted operations for a period at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility, according to AP. The malware's development has been attributed to Israel and the United States, which both suspect Iran's uranium enrichment program is geared toward weapons development. Tehran has maintained its atomic ambitions are strictly peaceful.
Iran confirmed that Stuxnet had infected the laptops of Bushehr plant personnel while denying the worm affected operations at the facility itself. Tehran insisted the worm had not caused the plant's opening to be postponed. Read the full report here.
Source: NTI: Global Security Newswire.
