![\"stuxnet\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/02\/stuxnet.jpg?w=620\")
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A new documentary on \u201cStuxnet\u201d, the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, reveals it was just a small part of a much bigger cyber operation against the nation\u2019s military and civilian infrastructure under the code name \u201cNITRO ZEUS”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n The United States hacked into critical civilian and military infrastructure in Iran to allow its operatives to disable the country with a devastating series of cyberattacks at a moment\u2019s notice, a documentary will claim this week.<\/p>\n The targets of the U.S. hacking operations, covered by the code name \u201cNITRO ZEUS,\u201d include power plants, transport infrastructure, and air defenses, the film will state, with agents entering these protected systems nightly to make sure the attacks were still deployable.<\/p>\n The film, Zero Days<\/i>, by Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, which is set to premiere at the Berlin film festival on Wednesday, will claim that the U.S.-Israel \u201cStuxnet\u201d worm \u2014 which destroyed around 1 in 5 of the centrifuges used in Iran\u2019s nuclear program \u2014 was just a small part of a much larger set of offensive capabilities developed against the nation.<\/p>\n Citing at least five confidential U.S. military or intelligence sources with direct knowledge of the programs, the film claims:<\/p>\n \u2022 U.S. hackers working from the Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Fort Meade, Maryland, have penetrated huge swaths of Iran\u2019s critical infrastructure, and were ready to launch disabling attacks alongside any military operation;<\/p>\n \u2022 Some within the State Department and the National Security Agency (NSA) expressed concern around the legality and ethics of some of these operations, which risked disabling civilian as well as military infrastructure;<\/p>\n \u2022 Israel modified the Stuxnet worm, targeted at Iranian nuclear facilities, making it far more aggressive, then unilaterally launched the new version. This was the one discovered by security researchers, who eventually traced it back to the two nations\u2019 intelligence agencies;<\/p>\n \u2022 Intelligence from the UK\u2019s GCHQ agency was used in deploying Stuxnet against Iranian facilities.<\/p>\n BuzzFeed News received an advance viewing of Gibney\u2019s film, and was given access to additional reporting material and research notes used for its production. These materials have been supplemented by independent reporting, including from previously published NSA documents from the cache leaked by Edward Snowden.<\/p>\n\n\n