Stuxnet-linked Fast16 malware sabotaged Iran’s nuclear simulations
- Source
- ZERO DAY
- Time
- 6:06 AM
- Weight
- 95/100
Researchers from Symantec have confirmed that a sophisticated malware known as Fast16 was designed to sabotage nuclear weapons testing simulations, likely targeting Iran's nuclear program around 2005. The code specifically manipulated data within specialized software programs, such as LS-DYNA and AUTODYN, which are used to model high-precision mathematical calculations for explosives.
By intercepting these simulations at the critical point of "supercriticality," the malware fed engineers false data to indicate that the core pressure was insufficient for a chain reaction, even when the actual data suggested the test was successful. Analysis suggests that Fast16 was developed contemporaneously with the Stuxnet virus, marking it as an early component of a multi-pronged digital campaign by the U.S. and its allies to delay Iran's nuclear ambitions.