Iran nuclear scientists reportedly assaulted with AC/DC

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been attacked by malware once again. In a letter made public on the company’s website, an unknown Iranian scientist from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) contacted Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of Finnish security company F-secure, with an unusual complaint: I am writing you to inform ...

Sara Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images
Sara Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images
Sara Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been attacked by malware once again.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been attacked by malware once again.

In a letter made public on the company’s website, an unknown Iranian scientist from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) contacted Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of Finnish security company F-secure, with an unusual complaint:

I am writing you to inform you that our nuclear program has once again been compromised and attacked by a new worm with exploits which have shut down our automation network at Natanz and another facility Fordo near Qom.

According to the email our cyber experts sent to our teams, they believe a hacker tool Metasploit was used. The hackers had access to our VPN. The automation network and Siemens hardware were attacked and shut down. I only know very little about these cyber issues as I am scientist not a computer expert.

There was also some music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the middle of the night with the volume maxed out. I believe it was playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC.

Though Hypponen emphasized that he could not verify the attacks upon the Natanz Uraniam enrichment facility in central Iran and Qom, a research facility in an undisclosed section of southwest Tehran, he confirmed that the message was sent from the AEIO.

This sort of thing isn’t new. Music was central to 1989’s Operation Just Cause, in which U.S. soldiers attempted to coerce Panamanian President Manuel Noriega from his refuge in the Vatican embassy by blaring loud music at the building. In documents acquired by the National Security Archives,  U.S. SOUTHCOM admitted U.S. military DJs took requests, blaring a playlist that ranged from Paul Simon’s 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run and, an apparent favorite, AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long.

More recently, U.S. Psychological Operations Company (PsyOps) admitted to the use of heavy metal in Iraq as a mechanism to break uncooperative prisoners’ resistance. Similar use was reported by the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of the "cruel, humane and degrading" treatment of Guantanamo inmates. Though the use of heavy metal as a interrogation technique incited some record companies to warn that the United States may owe royalty fees, military officials were unrepentant. As one officer told Newsweek, "Trust me, it works."

Though hackers have been known for their peculiar brand of humor — see Stuxnet’s hidden biblical references — the use of music in cyber warfare is certainly a new development. Start planning your requests.

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