Report on the Computer Virus in Iran

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has just released a report on the Stuxnet computer virus that was unleashed in Iran—purportedly designed by Israel and the US—concluding that "nations need to pause before diving into cyberwar against nuclear facilities. Stuxnet is now a model code for all to copy and modify to attack other industrial targets. Its discovery likely increased the risk of similar cyber attacks against the United States and its allies. While it has delayed the Iranian centrifuge program at the Natanz plant in 2010 and contributed to slowing its expansion, it did not stop it or even delay the continued buildup of LEU. A much broader debate, involving the public, needs to weigh the pros and cons of developing this new type of warfare."