A documentary film called “Zero Days” claims that the U.S. has devised a contingency plan to disable Iranian nuclear infrastructure with offensive cyber tools on short notice, Buzz Feed reported Tuesday.
James Ball writes the film, directed by Alex Gibney, reveals a joint U.S.-Israel effort to create the Stuxnet malicious computer worm that allegedly destroyed centrifuges at a uranium enrichment site in Natanz, Iran, as part of U.S.’ broader Nitro Zeus cyber operations.
The U.S. and Israel could independently access the virus’ source code and also used intelligence from British spy agency GCHQ to deploy the worm, the report said.
Buzz Feed saw the documentary ahead of its premiere Wednesday at the Berlin Film Festival and was offered access to some reporting and research materials used in film’s production, Ball noted.
The New York Times reports the U.S.’ Nitro Zeus strategy is aimed at Iranian power grid, communications and air defense assets and created after the signing of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last summer.
The Obama administration aims to ensure that the country has alternative strategy if the diplomatic effort fails to curb Iran’s nuclear development program, according to the story by David Sanger and Mark Mazzetti.
Sanger and Mazzetti write the U.S. military formulates contingency plans for possible conflicts triggered by regional attacks or rebellions.