According to Liberty Viral, Iranian nuclear scientists told security experts that hackers in 2009 exploited security holes that destroyed Iran’s centrifuge control computers. They then went on force Iran’s computer system to blast AC/DC at full volume.
Online security legend Mikko Hypponen called Stuxnet, the virus used, “perhaps the most devastating virus, or worm, ever untethered against an adversary.” Adding the bug helped set Iran’s nuclear program back years.
“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 the American band AC/DC Thunderstruck. It was all very strange and happened very quickly. The attackers also managed to gain root access to the machine they entered from and removed all logs,” told an Iranian scientist in an email to Hypponen.
There has been much speculation as to why the hacker decided to make Iran’s nuclear computer systems blast AC/DC. Hypponen speculates it was a sort of mind game — a physical reminder of the bug’s efficacy.
“If your computer plays AC/DC, you know that something’s going on, and your own IT department looks stupid, because they can’t stop it, they can’t keep the malware out.”
AC/DC’s music has been banned in Iran for years — making the irony of an oppressive regime’s nuclear computers blasting rock n’ roll even sweeter.
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