U.N.'s IAEA Has Been Infiltrated By Iranian Hackers

Hackers Break Into IAEA Servers, Post Data Online -- Express Tribune/Reuters

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that hackers had managed to breach their systems and had stolen information from one of its former servers. The compromised data had subsequently been posted on a hacker site this week, and that it was taking ”all possible steps” to ensure its computer systems were protected.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is investigating Iran’s nuclear activity, said the information concerned contact details of experts working with the IAEA but it did not say who might have been behind the hack.

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More News On The IAEA's Servers Being Hacked By Iranian Hackers

U.N. Nuclear Agency Says It Was Hacked -- Wall Street Journal
U.N. atom agency says stolen information on hacker site -- Reuters
IAEA Admits Computer System Hacked -- Radio Free Europe
Pro-Iranian Hackers Infiltrate Top Nuclear Watchdog And Call For Investigation Of Israel -- Business Insider
UN nuclear watchdog confirms data leak -- ZDNet
Pro-Iranian Hackers Hit U.N. Nuclear Agency, Publish Sensitive Info Online -- The Blaze
Hackers post atomic agency information -- Deutsche Welle
IAEA Server Breached, Scientists' Email Addresses Spilled -- Threat Post
Iranian Hackers Break Into IAEA Systems -- Arutz Sheva

New Chief Takes Charge At The U.N. Nuclear Agency

Yukiya Amano, the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at a news briefing Tuesday in Vienna. Herwig Prammer/Reuters

From The New York Times:

A new top inspector took charge Tuesday of the International Atomic Energy Agency as it faces one of the most turbulent periods in its 52-year history.

Yukiya Amano, 62, is a career diplomat and lawyer who served as Japan’s representative to the agency until his selection as director general in July. He inherits crises with Iran and North Korea, as well as the weakening of the global security system meant to curtail the spread of nuclear weapons.

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My Comment: He is no Mohamed ElBaradei, and as such I expect him to be more "confrontational" towards aspiring nuclear powers like Iran and North Korea.

Confusion At The IAEA On Iran Being Near The Production Of A Nuclear Bomb

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei attends a board of governors meeting in Vienna June 18, 2009. REUTERS/Herwig Prammer

IAEA Denies Report It Is Sure Iran Seeking Atom Bomb -- Yahoo News/AP

VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog said Thursday it had no proof that Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program, dismissing a news report that it had concluded Iran was on its way to producing nuclear weapons.

In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency reaffirmed IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei's September 9 warning that allegations the agency was sitting on undeniable evidence of Iranian bomb work were "politically motivated and baseless."

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Previous News Report: Nuke agency says Iran can make bomb -- AP

My Comment: The men and women who wrote up the report on Iran's nuclear program are saying that Iran is near the ability to build a nuclear weapon. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is saying the opposite.

Who to believe?

Either way .... this undermines the credibility of the IAEA.

Is The UN Hiding Evidence That Incriminates Iran And Its Nuclear Program?

The IAEA chief has said the UN watchdog does not have any evidence Iran is developing a nuclear weapons programme.

Israel Says UN Covering Up Iran's Nuclear Arms Drive -- AFP

JERUSALEM — Israel is accusing the UN nuclear weapons watchdog of holding back incriminating evidence of Iran's drive to obtain nuclear weapons, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday.

It cited unnamed Israeli officials as saying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was refraining from publishing data obtained in recent months that indicates Iran is pursing information about weaponisation efforts and a military nuclear programme.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who is to vacate his post in December, has said the UN watchdog does not have any evidence suggesting Iran is developing a nuclear weapons programme.

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More News On The IAEA And Iran's Nuclear Program

Sources: UN watchdog hiding evidence on Iran nuclear program -- Haaretz
Report accuses IAEA of hiding details -- UPI
IAEA Accused of Withholding Iran Nuclear Evidence -- Global Security Newswire
UN nukes chief 'hiding Iran evidence' -- The Australian
George Jonas: A tale of two nuclear bombs -- George Jonas, National Post opinion

IAEA May Need Intelligence Arm Against Atom Terror

From Yahoo News/AP:

The U.N. atomic watchdog may need to set up its own intelligence unit to combat a growing menace of nuclear terrorism, a former senior CIA official said in an interview Wednesday.

"The good news is that no credible information has surfaced that al Qaeda has obtained weapons-usable nuclear materials. The bad news is that (these) are missing in significant quantities," said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen.

He said the International Atomic Energy Agency, with its expertise probing shadowy nuclear activity in Iran and the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling ring, could be well placed to transcend national barriers to intelligence-sharing on atomic threats.

"We urgently need to overco

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My Comment: The UN is the worse agency to monitor against atom terrorism .... especially when some of the member states that will supervise this agency are being accused of nuclear proliferation and terrorism.

GAO Seeks Curbs on Nuclear Assistance Funding to Terrorism Sponsors

From Yahoo News/CQ Politics:

The Government Accountability Office revealed Tuesday that U.S. funds promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology went to countries listed as state sponsors of terrorism.

The agency recommended that Congress and the State Department restrict future funding to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Technical Cooperation Program to prevent Iran, Syria, Cuba and Sudan from receiving money. In a report, the GAO said neither the State Department nor the IAEA had systematically worked to limit assistance to the four countries, which together received more than $55 million from 1997-2007, meaning it's unclear whether U.S. funding has indirectly contributed to nuclear weapons proliferation.

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My Comment: This is unbelievable. The idea that U.S. taxpayer monies are supporting the nuclear programs in countries like Iran and Syria .... sigh .... there is something terribly wrong here.

Iran, Syria Got Indirect U.S. Nuclear Aid

From Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- Four countries designated by the U.S. as terrorism sponsors, including Iran and Syria, received $55 million from a U.S.-supported program promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, according to a report by Congress's investigative arm.

Iran received more than $15 million from 1997 to 2007 under the International Atomic Energy Agency's Technical Cooperation program, according to the Government Accountability Office report set to be released Tuesday. An additional $14 million went to Syria, while Sudan and Cuba received more than $11 million each, it said.

The U.S. is the largest funder of the United Nations body's program and provided $20 million in 2007, or about a quarter of the budget, the report said.

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My Comment: We have found the enemy .... and it is us.