Stuxnet: Wikipedia panel "Part of a series on..." Nuclear enrichment: As noted before: Proportion of U235 and U238 affects reactivity More U235 = more reactive More U238 = less reactive Yes, this seems backwards! So you want the lighter particles Centrifuges: Spin to get the heavy particles to the outside Simpler example: Adding used motor oil for diesel fuel Problem: Uranium is solid! Solution: Make it a gas There's a long and complicated procedure Ends up with flourine bonded to each uranium atom Definition of fluorine... Gas centrifuges have to spin really fast Long spinning things tend to flex at certain speeds Resonant frequency is bad There'll be a stable frequency, usually higher There's also a limit to how high the frequency should be Finally, the walls usually aren't all that thick Making them not work anymore without bombing: Too slow could hit resonant frequencies Too fast will exceed mechanical limits Too high of gas pressure will also exceed mechanical limits The shape is really pretty important, a little off won't work well The operators might notice unless we keep gauge readings correct This kind of system uses Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) If you want one, look for an arduino These can have network connectivity But they don't have to, and maybe you don't want it Air-gapped Helps avoid viruses Stuxnet worm, working backwards Step7 and programming PLCs: Usually you plug a laptop into the PLC to program it Maybe keep that laptop offline So if we've got control of the software that programs it... In this case, Siemens controllers Dynamic Link Library replacement Carefully make sure it's the right hardware Spreading via USB: Hid in a few files Used a previously unknown Windows bug to execute a special shortcut If a laptop isn't online, bringing files to it by USB can be common The virus deletes itself if it's in the wrong spot Worm mode: Just spread everywhere without doing much of anything This has been done a lot of times, but stuxnet was a little unusual 4 separate zero-day exploits used Besides USB device, it'll use remote procedure calls Did it work? Iran dismantled and removed 984 centrifuges No more than 2 years worth of setback Maybe less, kinda unclear exactly how well it worked How do we tell if enrichment is for electricity or weapons? Weapons generally require a higher level of enrichment Same enrichment process either way Highly enriched uranium from scrapped weapons can be fuel Have to control it more carefully! Nuclear power is usually kind of expensive Especially if you have other energy sources