Internet virus in Iran

News spreads in Iran that a virus has hit the computers of staff workers at Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant.

The Stuxnet virus has not however affected the system of the Bushehr plant itself, or government systems directly.

ANTI-VIRUS EXPERT ALIREZA AHMADI:

SOUNDBITE: Anti-virus expert Alireza Ahmadi, saying (Farsi):

"If they are saying the sole target was the Bushehr nuclear plant, no... That is not 100 percent the case. Any industrial system which is currently active -- and especially digital systems -- can be affected by this virus."

Ahmadi says it could be worse.

SOUNDBITE: Anti-virus expert Alireza Ahmadi, saying (Farsi):

"Apparently a lot of the country's internal systems and IPs -- they say roughly 60 per cent -- have been affected by this virus,"

Some Western cyber security companies have suggested that the attack could only be conducted with quote "nation-state support", indicating industrial plants in the Islamic state were the target.

Diplomats and security sources say Western governments and Israel view sabotage as one way of slowing Iran's nuclear work, which the West fears is aimed at building bombs.

Tehran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

Authorities said Iran had identified some 30,000 Internet Providers infected by the Stuxnet worm, blaming Iran's quote "foreign enemies" for creating the virus.

(Reuters)