US and Israel blamed for Stuxnet

4 March 2011 Last updated at 11:55 ET

Israel and the United States created the Stuxnet worm to sabotage Iran's nuclear programme, a leading security expert has claimed.

Ralph Langner told a conference in California that the malicious software was designed to cripple systems that could help build an Iranian bomb.

Mr Langner was one of the first researchers to show how Stuxnet could take control of industrial equipment.

It is widely believed that its target was machinery used to enrich uranium.

Speaking at the TED conference in Long Beach, California, Mr Langner said: "My opinion is that Mossad [Israel's intelligence agency] is involved."

However he speculated that Israel was not the main driver behind the creation of Stuxnet.

"There is only one leading source, and that is the United States," said Mr Langner.

In a recent report on Stuxnet, the security firm Symantec said that it would have taken a team of between five and 10 developers, six months to create the worm.

Mr Langner said that the project would have required "inside information", so detailed that "they probably knew the shoe size of the operator."

Stuxnet first came to light in July 2010. Nearly 60% of reported infections were inside Iran.

Damaging centrifuges

The worm targets industrial control systems, known as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), made by Siemens.

While PLCs are used to control a wide variety of automated systems, it is believed that it was those inside Iran's nuclear facilities that were the intended target.

Analysts who have examined the Stuxnet code say it could have been used to damage centrifuges which play a crucial role in the process of enriching uranium for both nuclear power and weapons.

The United States and Israel have led an international campaign to halt Iran's nuclear programme, however there is no hard evidence to link either country to the creation of Stuxnet.

Earlier in the week Iran's Interior Ministry denied that Stuxnet had been responsible for a shutdown at the country's Bushehr nuclear reactor.

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency showed that Russian engineers working at the plant had removed 163 fuel rods.

Iranian sources said that the action was taken as a result of problems with the rods, rather than Stuxnet.

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UK pushes on with broadband plans

4 March 2011 Last updated at 11:51 ET

The government is pushing ahead with the second wave of funding for super-fast broadband across the UK.

It comes despite the fact that no firms or technologies have yet been chosen for original pilot areas earmarked to test how to roll out next-generation broadband to remote areas.

New bids are now being invited for a further �50m.

The government has pledged to make the UK the best place for super-fast broadband in Europe by 2015.

The �50m will be made available to local authorities around the UK.

"This is very much a locally-driven process and we encourage bids from all local people with plans for improving broadband in their local area," said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Local councils wanting to take advantage of the latest tranche of funding will need to apply via the Broadband Delivery UK.

The government estimated that the funding would help a further 800,000 homes to benefit from next-generation broadband.

Slow progress

Some have questioned the timing of the new scheme, given that pilots intended to be testbeds for best practice in connecting the so-called 'final third' have yet to begin.

This is the third of UK homes that are not economically attractive to firms such as BT and Virgin Media because offering next-generation services there would cost too much money.

At the time they were announced Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said: "Our aim is to use these rural market testing pilots to discover exactly what needs to be done to make super-fast broadband commercially viable in rural communities".

Despite announcing the four areas in October - North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and the Highlands and Islands - no firm or technologies have yet been chosen for the areas.

Each trial was allocated a fund of between �5m and �10m.

Lack of progress led Labour MP Ian Lucas to ask the government to "pull its finger out" last month.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport conceded that it has been a long process.

"Councils are having to get everything ready. They have to know what work needs to be done."

He said that announcements would be made soon.

In total the government has earmarked �530m of public money to be spent on bringing super-fast broadband to rural areas.

This money is drawn from the BBC license fee and was originally earmarked to help people with the switch over to digital TV.

Any funds to speed up broadband roll-out should be applauded said Sebastien Lahtinen of broadband news site ThinkBroadband.

"This crucial step will be welcomed by those living in the 'final third', the most remote areas of the UK which currently suffer from a lack of decent broadband services.

However, many in those areas will continue to be frustrated that it's going to take years to roll out across the entire country," he said.

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Blogspot banned in football row

4 March 2011 Last updated at 00:17 ET

A row over who can broadcast football matches in Turkey has led to Google's Blogger site being blocked.

A court in Turkey issued the ban in response to a copyright complaint by satellite TV firm Digiturk.

It brought the complaint when it discovered that some of the matches it was broadcasting were showing up on Blogspot pages.

About 600,000 Turkish bloggers are thought to use the Google tool to publish their personal journals.

The ban has been imposed because Turkey's copyright protection laws allow for entire services to be shut down.

In October, 2010 Turkey lifted a ban on YouTube that had been in place for two years.

Google confirmed the Blogger/Blogspot ban in a statement and said those with worries about piracy should turn to its easy to use takedown systems rather than seek a wholesale shutdown.

"The process for making a copyright claim for content uploaded to Blogger is straightforward and efficient, and we encourage all content owners to use it rather than seek a broad ban on access to the service," said a spokesperson.

"That way, people in Turkey can continue to enjoy Blogger whilst we respond to the specific complaint."

Digiturk said it went to court to protect its right to broadcast Turkey's Spor Toto Super League games on its Lig channel. Digiturk said the ban had not curbed all piracy as other sites beyond Blogger were still showing pirated streams of football matches.

Cyber-rights activist Yaman Akdeniz told the Hurriyet news site that the ban was a "disproportionate response" that would inconvenience millions of people.

"I understand there is a legitimate concern regarding Digiturk's commercial rights but banning all these websites will not solve the issue," he told the site.

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